Who invented the high five? The controversial origins of an iconic gesture

You’ve done it thousands of times. After a game-winning shot, a serious joke, a perfectly executed parallel parking job. You’ve probably never thought twice about who did it first. The high-five is so associated with sports and everyday life that it feels like it must have been around forever — just like a handshake or a wave.

not yet. The high five is a surprisingly modern hand gesture, and its exact origins are one of the most interesting unresolved debates in sports. Many credit the famous 1977 moment between Los Angeles Dodgers teammates Dusty Baker and Glenn BurkeOver time, multiple competing stories and cultural references emerged—some well-documented, others later disputed or even fabricated. No one has explicitly addressed this issue.

The High Five Moment Most Everyone Knows About 1977

according to Encyclopedia BritannicaThe most widely accepted origin story traces High Five to October 2, 1977. That day, Dodgers left fielder Dusty Baker hit his 30th home run of the season. As Baker crossed home plate, teammate Glenn Burke raised his hand in greeting. Baker slapped it in celebration.

The moment is often considered the first recorded high-five, and Burke is credited with helping popularize the gesture in professional sports. But there’s a problem: The interaction wasn’t televised. The most famous origin story of one of the world’s most recognizable gestures exists only in the memories of those who were there.

“His hands were in the air and his body was arched back,” Baker told reporters. ESPN 2020. “So I reached over and hit his hand. It seemed like the right thing to do.”

Even by Baker’s own account, it was completely spontaneous—a reaction, not a rehearsed move.

Early and Alternative Claims of High Five

Despite the popularity of Major League Baseball’s origin story, historians and cultural references suggest the gesture may be much older.

Some reports suggest this high-five behavior may have existed among U.S. military personnel stationed in Japan after World War II. Others have noted visual similarities in earlier media, including Jean-Luc Godard1960 movie panting The characters in the play appear to have made similar moves – nearly two decades before the time of Baker and Burke.

Another theory links the high five to African-American vernacular English, specifically the phrase “give me five.” This line of thinking suggests that body movements evolved from existing cultural expressions—the upward palm clap was not invented in a flash, but gradually developed out of a greeting that has roots deeper than any one sporting celebration.

Louisville basketball star has his say on high five

Among basketball lore, there’s a story attributed to a University of Louisville player willie brown and Derek Smith Create gestures. During the 1978-79 season, during a basketball practice at the University of Louisville, forward Brown hit a common low-five to his teammate Smith. Smith suddenly looked Brown in the eyes and said, “No, up there.”

The Cardinals are known as the “Slam Dunk Doctors.” They play above the rim. So when Smith raised his hand, Brown suddenly understood: He understood how the low five violated their team’s fundamental vertical character.

“I thought, yeah, why do we stay low? We jump so high,” Brown told ESPN. Brown maintains that it was Smith who invented the high-five, who in turn spread the high-five across the country.

Today, while the exact origins are still debated, the high-five is a universal symbol of celebration and is widely used in sports, pop culture, and everyday life. Whether it was born in a Los Angeles dugout, a Louisville basketball arena or a military base overseas, the gesture now belongs to everyone who has raised a hand only to find another hand waiting.

Where did it actually start? No one can agree – and at this point, that’s probably part of the reason this story is worth telling.