Meet the Big Train Board: Dick Lipsky

It started with a conversation, waiting in line for a John Kinsella bobblehead on a Saturday evening last August. Dick Lipsky is an avid bobblehead collector. When he heard about the Potomac Nationals’ Field of Dreams night at Pfitzner Stadium in Woodbridge, Virginia, he had to go.

Field of Dreams centers around magically uniting people through a love of baseball. On this night in Woodbridge, the movie unexpectedly brought two people together: Lipsky and Big Train founder Bruce Adams.

“I hear this voice behind me say, ‘Bruce!’ and it was Dick, who is equally insane in terms of having to collect cool, weird bobbleheads,” Adams said.

The two talked the entire game about the future of Big Train baseball.

“That was the most important conversation of the last nine months that led to the re-creation of the Bethesda Community Base Ball Club,” Adams said.

Lipsky’s passion for baseball dates back long before his bobblehead obsession. Born in Los Angeles, he originally grew up an Angels fan, but his passion for the game blossomed once he moved east to New York City.

“I went to a lot of games at Yankee Stadium, which was about two miles from my house,” Lipsky said. “Also, when I was in high school, I was a vendor at Shea Stadium.”

Lipsky started playing baseball at eight years old, excelling as a pitcher and first baseman. In Babe Ruth League, Lipsky threw a no-hitter, but his career ultimately ended when he was the last player cut from the Flushing High School team. But while his time on the field was over, his fandom wasn’t.

He found his way to Maryland after working in Central Pennsylvania, taking a position at Montgomery County Public Schools in 1985 and is currently the district’s television supervisor.

He attended local minor league and major league games for years. Once Big Train began in 1999, he was hooked.

“I said ‘I love baseball, why don’t I go down, take a look and try one of the games,’” Lipsky said. “I went to a couple of games and it far exceeded anything I had seen at the college level.”

When it came time to recreate the Bethesda Community Base Ball Club, Lipsky, a long-time season pass holder, was an obvious addition. Though there is no 2020 season, Lipsky is looking toward the future as he looks to help to build up the organization.

“To be anything involved with baseball, starting when you’re eight years old and you’re still working in it in some capacity, is like a dream come true,” Lipsky said.