Jim Beck was a longtime baseball patron, coach and player in the Northern Virginia area.  He coached at every level of amateur baseball, from Little League and Babe Ruth, to high school and adult teams.  For the last several years, Jim coached baseball at Falls Church High School, and was the co-founder and President of the Fairfax Nationals, a summer college team in the Clark Griffith Collegiate Baseball League.  He also served as the team’s bench coach and team motivator.

Jim was also on the roster of several adult league teams throughout the area and regularly played upwards of 100 games per year, often traveling to Arizona and Florida to play and coach in tournaments.  As a charter member of the 25-year old DC Men’s Senior Baseball League, Jim’s energy and passions were instrumental in making it one of the nation’s largest adult leagues.  Jim was also a long time member of the Home Plate Club and was previously honored for his contributions to local baseball. Jim was a member of both the DCMSBL Hall of Fame and the Home Plate Club Hall of Fame.

Jim also left his mark in the community as a tireless contributor to youth clubs and other groups supporting community events and activities, which included the Rotary Club and the Fairfax County Baseball Council.  As the owner of A.J.’s Sport Shop in Vienna, Jim was a long time friend of many Northern Virginia sports memorabilia buffs.

Jim was the father of Karen, Kristen, James, Ted, Monica and Walter Beck. Jim lived in Fairfax, along with his wife Lynda, and their children Walter and Monica.

Most of you here probably interacted with Jim in some way over the years.

For me, it started in the late 80s when Jim and I played and coached on the same adult team—and that continued through last summer.

Last night, I figured out that between adult and amatueur teams, Jim and I played coached or played together in about 850 games over the last 20 years.  That translates into roughly 2500 hours together on the baseball field.  When I told my wife about this number, she said “wow, that’s more time than you spent with me over the same period.”

I was tempted to retort that “well that may be true, but look at the wisdom I gained from all those Beck-Hours.” – Gary Boss