When Jim Buzinski and Cyd Zeigler, founders of the popular gay sports website Outsports.com, set out to build a list of the key moments in gay sports history, they were shooting for 25.
But quickly, that list hit 50, then 75 and, ultimately, the century mark.
Thus, the website is in the home stretch counting down Outsports' 100 Most Important Moments in Gay Sports History. The number-one moment will be revealed Wed., Oct. 5.
"[Due to] the number of sports folks who have come out this year, we've done a lot of media interviews," Zeigler said. "Somebody asked me in the spring if Steve Buckley was the first openly gay sports writer. [But actually,] there have been many [before Buckley, such as] Roger Brigham, Christine Daniels [and] LZ Granderson.
"That question surprised me, and soon after that, someone else told me that Billy Bean was the first former Major League Baseball player to come out when, in fact, that [distinction goes to] Glenn Burke.
"After these incidents I realized how few people knew the true, rich history of gay sports, so we decide to list what we felt were the 100 most important moments."
Zeigler, who lives in Southern California, said the overall list now stands at about 120, "and I'm wondering if we could have done 200," he said.
Zeigler said the Outsports' top 100 list does not include several noteworthy moments, such as the creation of GLSEN's Sports Project. "It's so tough to measure the historical impact of a project that's been around for [only about] eight months," Zeigler said. "My guess is, if we re-did this list in five years, this one would jump up the list."
Others that barely missed the list involved race-car driving (Terri O'Connell and Billy Innes).
In addition to Zeigler and Buzinski, the steering committee for the top 100 project included Pat Griffin, Gene Dermody, Patricia Nell Warren and Dan Woog. Plus, various Outsports.com readers contributed their thoughts and suggestions, Zeigler said.
Ultimately, Zeigler and Buzinski compiled the final list.
Zeigler would not reveal the number-one gay sports moment from their list but, when asked if it was a consensus, hands-down, run-away at the top spot, he said, "For us, yes." Zeigler added, "For us, the top 5 really feel like the correct top 5."
From the Outsports top 100 list, Zeigler said Brendan Burke has been the most controversial. Burke was an out athlete and student manager of a college ice-hockey team; the 21-year-old died in a car crash last year.
"We struggled over how to rank Brendan Burke, because both his coming out and his death had strong impacts in different ways," Zeigler said. "Ultimately, we went with two separate moments, separated by about 60 spots.
"Brendan Burke's coming out [ranked] No. 81, but his unfortunate death is much higher [on the list].
"The one that really jumps out at me is Rene Richards winning the right to play in the U.S. Open. For me, that's a top-10 moment. For other people, it might be buried in the 80s or 90s. But I think that reflects the unfortunate position so many transgender people find themselves in [in] our community."
Zeigler said Esera Tuaolo, Billy Bean and John Amaechi also were highly debate on where each would rank.
The Outsports.com list is from the post-Stonewall era, Zeigler said.
The earliest moment that made the list is the publication of The Front Runner in 1974. In total, there are nine moments from the 1970s.
There are 13 on the top 100 list from the last two years, yet, of those 13, only one is in the top 40. "Because so much has happened in the last two years, it's diluted the impact of each moment," Zeigler said. "Plus, it's hard to gauge the real importance of something that's happened so recently.
"As more and more retired athletes and college athletes come out, it has weakened the importance in the minds of some of each coming-out."
Outsports.com is celebrating its 12th anniversary this November.
"Not enough people know the rich history of LGBT athletics," Zeigler said. "Whether it's athletes coming out, straight athletes supporting [the LGBT community], incidents of homophobia, or the founding of important organizations, there is a lot to celebrate. When we started Outsports, the gay athlete was an anomaly. Now the topic drives headlines and debate. Knowing how we got here, particularly for people in their teens and 20s, is important to us.
"There are so many moments we could have included [on the list], and we think of more and more all the time. In fact, since we started publishing the list in early July we've changed a couple of the moments because of things we've learned. Once we've completed the list in late-September we're going to expand the list even more and publish it as a book: A real chronicle of the history of gay sports.
"Too many people don't know this rich history, and we want to bring it all to light."
