Did You Know The ‘High Five’ Was Invented In The 1970s? The MLB Origin Story Will Blow Your Mind

The handshake is believed to date back to the 9th century B.C. as historians have ancient art depicting Assyrian and Babylonian kings ‘shaking hands’ to seal alliances. To many, the ‘high five‘ feels just as ancient. It is universal celebratory act where people slap hands in jubilation.

Alas, that is not the case at all. The true origin story of the ‘high five’ is that it was created by two MLB figures during a game in the 1970s and the ‘high five‘ is not even 50 years old yet. Who knew?!

When Was The High Five Invented? Origin Story

I first came across a video over the weekend from a creator saying they had recently learned the high five was invented less than 50 years ago and how it is all they can think about. Naturally, I didn’t believe them at first so I did some digging and as it turns out that assertion is correct.

The first official high five is believed to have occurred on October 2, 1977. MLB legend and then Los Angeles Dodger Dusty Baker had just hit a home run and as he was rounding the bases he threw up his hand and hit fellow LA Dodger Glenn Burke, who later became the first openly gay MLB player who came out to his teammates while playing and publicly after retirement. Dusty Baker was the first MLB manager to lead 5 different teams to division titles in his career and in 2022 he became the oldest manager to win a World Series (Houston Astros).

In this game, it was the final series of the regular season and the Los Angeles Dodgers had a chance to make history. Steve Garvey, Ron Say, Reggie Smith, and Dusty Baker were seeking to become the first quartet in MLB history to all hit 30 home runs that season, something that had never been done before.

Garvey, Say, and Smith had each already hit their 30th dinger and only Dusty Baker was left to complete the feat. It took until the 3rd game in the series for Dusty Baker to hit one out of the park and as he was rounding the bases Glenn Burke was on deck at home plate and the two threw up hands for the world’s first high five.

The actual moment of the world’s first high five is a moment captured on video. That alone blows my mind. I’d have suspected it was hundreds of years old at the earliest. The Doggett’s Coat and Badge on the Thames River is the world’s oldest continuously running rowing race/regatta. It has been running annually since 1715. Were the rowers back then just slapping each other on the shoulders? There were seriously no high fives getting thrown around in th boats?!?

Here is that moment of the world’s first high five on October 2, 1977 between Dusty Baker and Glenn Burke:

Things Older Than The High Five That Will Mess With Your Perception Of Time

Here are just a few things older than the high five:

— Every President of the United States ever. They were all born before the high five was invented.

— 401k retirement accounts were not invented until around 1980

— Charlie Chaplin died the year the high five was invented

— Germany. It wasn’t reunified between East/West Germany until October 3, 1990

— Use of the guillotine ended on September 10, 1977, less than one month before the high five was invented.

— Salvador Dali died (1989) 12 years after the invention of the high five.

— The Nintendo company was founded in 1889, 88 years before the invention of the high five.

— The first high five occurred 12 years before the world’s first ‘labradoodle’ was bred.

I will end with that and allow all of that to sink in. Now go forth into the world, share this article, and tell everyone how the high five was invented on October 2, 1977 by Dusty Baker and Glenn Burke.