Born on October 13, 1974, in Hartford, Connecticut. Burnham is one of Connecticut’s most prolific baseball players of all-time. Though selected in the 22nd round of the 1993 MLB Draft out of South Windsor High School by the Chicago Cubs, he opted to play at Clemson University. In 1995, he was named a third team All-American by Baseball Writers of America. The Oakland A’s chose Burnham in the 40th round of the 1996 MLB Draft; but again, did not sign. During the summer, Burnham played in the Cape Cod Baseball League for Orleans and then Falmouth. He was an All-Star both years and earned MVP of the 1995 Cape League All-Star Game. Returning for a senior season at Clemson, he hit .391, tied for 5th in the ACC. Burnham was chosen by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 22nd round of the 1997 MLB Draft and signed. By 1999, he was first baseman for the Reading Phillies of the Eastern League with the best batting average in the Phillies farm system. He was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays during Spring Training of 2002, proceeded to hit 17 home runs and 88 RBI and won team MVP. His 2004 season was split between the St. Louis Cardinals’ Memphis Redbirds affiliate and the Cincinnati Reds’ Louisville Bats. In 2006, after a hot stat with the Bridgeport Bluefish, Burnham returned to the Phillies system. He led the 2007 International League in OBP for the Ottawa Lynx and was named team MVP. In 2010, the Reading Phillies named Gary Burnham to their All-Decade team as an outfielder and was later inducted into the Reading Phillies Hall of Fame. Burnham continued to play professional baseball in Taiwan, Japan and Europe and once hit a game-winning homer off Masahiro Tanaka in 2009 as a member of the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Japanese Baseball League. In his return to Connecticut, Burnham has worked in medical device sales and owns a property management company. He has been a contributing sponsor, player and General Manager of the South Windsor Phillies since 2018. He lives in South Windsor with his wife Rachel and three children.