Steve Sayles It seems to fit that one of historian Steve Sayles’ favorite hobbies would be America’s pastime. “It goes back to the ‘50s. In ’57, we got a TV,” Sayles said, smiling as he recalls names such as Dizzy Dean and Pee Wee Reese. Much like the dates he spews while lecturing to his U.S. History 110 class, Sayles readily throws out the pivotal years in forging his love for baseball. However, he can actually recall the exact moment when he truly fell in love with the game. Watching Warren Spahn of the Milwaukee Braves go for his 20th win for the 9th season in a row, Sayles remembers something clicking. “I was just mesmerized by Warren Spahn, He became my all-time hero. I’ve been interested in the Braves ever since,” he said, admitting to having no logical reason for following the Braves. A love for a game so deeply steeped in tradition might partly be a product of Sayles’ affinity for history, but a percentage of blame can also be traced to his dad, who played semi-professional ball. Now, he still nurses his love for the game, playing “with anyone, anytime,” he said, in addition to catching the boys of summer as often as possible. “I haven’t watched a Super Bowl in about 15 years,” he said. “I’ll sit and watch a baseball game with anybody. I do understand why some Americans see it as boring, but to me, it’s interesting.” And Sayles can not only trace his baseball lineage back to the ‘50s, his interest in film, another one of his favorite hobbies, also extends back to these formative years. “I’ve always been fascinated with film,” he said. “It’s probably one of my favorite sources of relaxation.” Sayles said this hobby also began in the ‘50s, when he used to go see horror pictures about some sort of nuclear testing gone wrong, and the genetic mutations that ensued. He and his friends would then reenact the entire film. This obsession matured into the ‘60s, trading “Creature From the Black Lagoon” for “Midnight Cowboy” and “The Graduate.” Now, Sayles still admits to enjoying nearly all aspects of film, including plot, character development and – especially – the opening scenes. “I’m always interested in how directors choose to begin to tell a story on the screen,” he said. Back in his meticulously-organized office – his desk clean, his extensive bookshelves perfectly stacked – trappings of Sayles’ two-year stint in the army remain. He is still deliberate, obviously disciplined. His outward appearance remains clean-cut. And he remains exacting as well, which shows as he describes the annual trips he and his wife take to the New Mexico/West Texas area boys camp her family helped start in the 1890s. Sayles said he has the travel times almost down to the minute. “That’s probably my favorite area of the country,” he said. The trips last anywhere from two to six weeks, but would last longer if possible. “We take as long as we can. If we could spend the whole summer there, we probably would.” His bookshelves, vast and expanding, spread along the south wall, from floor to ceiling, looming over the rest of the large office. Such a collection reveals a voracity for reading, a habit he said he formed early in life. In fact, Sayles once told the story of his days as a professorial vagabond, moving constantly from school to school, ditching some of his belongings each time he moved. Then, when he started to dip into his beloved books, he had to settle down. Now, he continues to read, but he admits that his scope is rather limited to non-fiction, historical books. But he is looking to remedy that. “I don’t read as much as I should,” he said. ‘In terms of my intellectual development, I feel I’ve been lacking.” So he’s moving more into fiction, looking to some of his favorite authors – James Lee Burke and Cormack McCarthy – to broaden his literary scope. THE PROFESSOR Sayles said that students who come to class and do their homework tend to do well with him. In addition, he enjoys reading the writings of students who have done the research and analysis, he said. “When I see it,” he said, “I just sit back in my chair and read it. I hardly make any comments on it. That’s a real joy.” When asked what his students think of him, Sayles blurted, “Oh, Good God.” He said that his son is on campus and he hears what students think: “He says they say, ‘I’m hard as hell.’ I don’t think that’s true. It shocks me to hear that.” “If they don’t do the work, they don’t get the credit. I don’t make exceptions to that. I let the points fall where they fall. It’s all spelled out in the syllabus.” But Sayles also admitted that he’s approachable and has changed grades if a student shows that he or she knows more than was on the examination. Apparently, the army alumnus is not that hard-edged. RETURN TO FACULTY LISTmailto:sayless@ulv.edu?subject=HELLOHome.htmlshapeimage_1_link_1
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