Lambda Legal board member Laura Ricketts made a bit of history this past weekend when she was announced as the first ever openly gay Major League Baseball owner. The Ricketts family purchased the Chicago Cubs earlier this year for a reported $845 million and officially took the
helm last week.

As OutSports.com notes, several major league sports franchises have been publicly traded. So there have probably been a few 'gay' team owners out there before. Laura Ricketts, however, is the first
publicly known major league team owner.

Laura Ricketts lives in Chicago with her partner and serves on the board of the LGBT advocacy organization Lambda Legal. Ricketts, along with her brothers Pete, Todd and Tom will head the new Cubs board of directors, with Tom Ricketts serving as chairman. The four siblings made their first public appearance as the Cubs' new owners on Friday at a press conference.

Although older brother Pete Ricketts is a conservative Republican who opposes gay marriage, Laura Ricketts told ABC there is no bad blood among the siblings. "We don't agree on all the issues of the day, but when it comes right down to it, we are family and love each other and that doesn't - that never - changes."

"I came out to my family I would say early to mid 30's. I think for a long time I wasn't really out to myself growing up in Omaha, Neb., to a Catholic conservative family," Laura Ricketts said in an interview
with MarketToMarketLLC.com. "It took me a while to come out to myself and not long after that I came out to them. I think that it really couldn't of been a better experience. They were all immediately
supportive. ...I have been really really fortunate in that regard."

The Ricketts family is determined to see their newly purchased ball club eventually win the World Series, something the team hasn't done since 1908.

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