Interview with Troy Lovett, March 25, 2022

Partial Transcript: Last interview, which was two weeks ago, we talked a great deal about your specific treatment...

Segment Synopsis: Lovett explains that the treatments for patients at Highland Hospital were considered innovative at the time. For instance, patients were required to participate in psychodrama therapy, which concerned Lovett, since he was worried about what the treatment would reveal about himself to others. Lovett states that Dr. Caroll, the founder of Highland Hospital, implemented some cutting edge treatments such as shock therapy during the 1930s and 1940s, but Lovett did not experience shock therapy at Highland. Lovett was able to be exempted from the psychodrama therapy, since he had to attend school during the day. Lovett talks about the purpose and goals of psychodrama therapy.

Keywords: "Shock theater"; Control; Doctors; Dr. Norman Polansky; Dr. Patton; Dr. Robert Carroll; Elizabeth Harkins; Films; Improvisation; Innovation; Journals; Mother image; Movies; Psychodrama therapy; Reluctance; Schools; Separation; Shock treatments; Techniques; Therapy tools; Treatments; World War II

Subjects: Acting; Asheville (N.C.); Auditory hallucinations; Compulsive behavior; Diaries; Hallucinations; Highland Hospital (Asheville, N.C.); History; Hydrotherapy; Mental health; Mental illness; Mental illness--Treatment; Nineteen forties; Nineteen thirties; Patients; Psychotherapy; Research; Schizoaffective disorders; Schizophrenia; Self; Shock therapy; Social workers; Super-ego; Trauma; World War, 1939-1945

Partial Transcript: So, we talked a lot about Dr. Polansky.

Segment Synopsis: Lovett's journal from the time he was in Highland Hospital indicated a shift in Dr. Polansky's approach to treating his mental illness in the initial months of his hospital stay. Dr. Polansky encouraged Lovett to express emotions by almost provoking him to have an adverse reaction. During one particular role-playing session in which Dr. Polansky acted like Lovett, Lovett became very upset about how others might have perceived him based on his actions in the simulation. Dr. Polansky then briefly broke down the doctor-patient relationship and treated Lovett like a friend and asked about his well-being. Lovett explains that he needed to express his emotions in order to separate himself from the mother image in his hallucinations, which had convinced him that he needed to earn the right to be loved, stemming from a fear of abandonment. In time, Lovett began to replace these destructive voices with the positive reinforcement of Dr. Polansky, which helped build up his self-esteem. One day, when Lovett was late for the bus going to school and also missed the bus going home, he wrote in his journal that it was a great day because he had done something spontaneous. Lovett found it difficult to give up his constructed personality, since he felt that he used it to please everyone around him (due to his fear of abandonment). Initially, Lovett was unsure whether he would accept the help offered by Dr. Polansky and choose to remain with the same personality, but eventually realized that Dr. Polansky was the avenue by which Lovett could build a better life.

Keywords: Abandonment; Aggression; Anger; Approaches; Assertiveness; Awareness; Baiting; Choices; Control; Doctors; Dr. Norman Polansky; Expressive; Fear; Guises; Lee Edwards High School (Asheville, N.C.); Likeable; Mimicking; Mother image; Perfection; Personality; Pleasing; Reactions; Relationships; Responses; Rigid; Scary; Self-expression; Separation; Spontaneity; Techniques; Treatments; Unknown; Voices

Subjects: Aggressiveness; Asheville (N.C.); Auditory hallucinations; Caring; Childhood; Compulsive behavior; Depression; Diaries; Education; Emotions; Ethics; Fear; Friendships; Hallucinations; High schools; Highland Hospital (Asheville, N.C); Highland Hospital (Asheville, N.C.); Identity; Interpersonal relations; Love; Mental health; Mental illness; Mental illness--Treatment; Mothers; Patients; Personality; Psychotherapy; Punishment; Role playing; Schizoaffective disorders; Schizophrenia; School buses; Self; Self-esteem; Simulation; Spontaneity (Personality trait); Super-ego; Understanding; Walking

Partial Transcript: I want to take a quick digression because, because I know that music is very important to you.

Segment Synopsis: Lovett and the interviewer discuss the improvisational nature of certain types of music, and why Lovett can only play music as it is written. Lovett says that he tends to gravitate more towards logical subjects such as math. Lovett compares football to math and states that creativity in subjects such as writing is difficult for him.

Keywords: Creativity; Fair catch; Improvisation; Jazz; Music notes; Order; Perfection; Reading music; Rigid; Self-expression; Success

Subjects: Asheville (N.C.); Education; Football; Logic; Mathematics; Mental health; Mental illness; Music; Musical ability; Personality; Schizoaffective disorders; Schizophrenia; Thinking; Understanding

Partial Transcript: A, a, and again, if you see this in the context that we're talking, that may be a good patient.

Segment Synopsis: Lovett explains that compulsive behaviors began to pile up for him to the point where he could not function every day. The interviewer and Lovett discuss the positive side of patterned behavior, in the sense that people can remain focused on one task and build routines. All people must make decisions and Lovett explains that people who suffer from mental illness are unable to make quick decisions and get caught up in the decision-making process without realizing it. Lovett states that people who do not have a mental illness also experience neurotic behavior, but are able to weather the external pressures of life and not take compulsions to unhealthy levels. Lovett says that mental illness is, in part, caused by the wiring of a person's brain, which causes an abnormal perception, leading to fear and low self-esteem issues, which manifests in compulsive behavior. Lovett feels that it is difficult to explain mental illness to people who do not experience it. Lovett states that he needs to do his rituals every day in order to function. Dr. Polansky wanted Lovett to express his emotions in order to uncover his true personality and be less rigid in his thought process.

Keywords: Aggression; Compulsions; Concern; Conditioning; Decisions; Dr. Norman Polansky; Earning; Eating; Equations; Following orders; Functioning; Meals; Neuroses; Neurotic; Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD); Patterns; Perfect patient; Process; Processes; Rationality; Rituals; Routines; Therapy; Treatments

Subjects: Asheville (N.C.); Brain; Brothers; COVID-19 pandemic, 2020-; Churches; Cleanliness; Compulsive behavior; Emotions; Envy; Fear; Food; Health; Hesitation; Highland Hospital (Asheville, N.C.); Honesty; Humanity; Mental health; Mental illness; Mental illness--Treatment; Patients; Patterns & practices; Perception; Personality; Perspective; Pressure; Schizoaffective disorders; Schizophrenia; Self; Self-esteem; Stress; Thinking; Uncertainty; Understanding

Partial Transcript: So, I think about--now, I think about your grandmother, um, on the Lovett side.

Segment Synopsis: Lovett recalls that his paternal grandmother warned him against the family tendency to develop alcoholism. In Lovett's view, he has an addictive personality, which he may have in part inherited from the addictive tendencies of his family. Lovett was aware from an early age that he needed to stay away from alcohol. Lovett says his cousin died of complications from alcoholism at age forty-two. Lovett states that addictive behaviors tend to stem from genetics and a person's ability to exert self-control. Lovett is thankful that his grandmother informed him of this genetic predisposition to alcoholism, which prompted him to never take up drinking or smoking.

Keywords: Addiction; Addictive; Compulsions; Control; Family; Family history

Subjects: Addictive personality; Alcohol; Alcoholism; Awareness; Brain; Brothers; Compulsive behavior; Cousins; Death; Diaries; Discipline; Families.; Food; Genetics; Grandmothers; Great-uncles; Mental health; Mental illness; Observation; Patterns & practices; Personality; Physiologists; Schizoaffective disorders; Schizophrenia; Self; Smoking; Teenagers; Williamsburg (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: So, how much, um--I'm gonna move your microphone.

Segment Synopsis: Lovett struggled with depression while at Highland Hospital and often felt fatigued. Lovett states that he has a lifelong struggle with depression and mental illness. Lovett describes his mental illness as impossible to escape and forget about, which impacted his ability to function. Lovett initially did not want to return to school while at Highland because he was depressed and worried that his mental illness would worsen again if he went back to the pressures of education.

Keywords: Compulsions; Depression; Dr. Norman Polansky; Functioning; Lifelong illnesses; Neurotic; Triggering events; Triggers

Subjects: Asheville (N.C.); Awareness; Compulsive behavior; Diagnosis; Education; Fatigue; Healing; High schools; Highland Hospital (Asheville, N.C.); Mental health; Mental illness; Patients; Schizoaffective disorders; Schizophrenia; Stability; Work

Partial Transcript: And we're going to talk about school and things like that. That was a huge thing when I went back to school in the fall.

Segment Synopsis: Lovett initially felt that he was not ready to return to high school while at Highland Hospital, since he was unable to function. Lovett enjoyed the activities offered at Highland like volleyball, because it forced him to make decisions quickly without thinking about it. Lovett states that Dr. Polansky wanted to him to attend the local high school, Lee Edwards, so that he would be forced to improvise and adjust to a new environment. Because of Lovett's personality and quest to please others, he put pressure on himself to make good grades, which was a trigger for his mental illness. Lovett had previously attended Williamsburg High School in Williamsburg, Kentucky, which had a much smaller student body than Lee Edwards High School. Lovett was the first teenage patient from Highland to attend Lee Edwards High School, which put even more pressure on him to perform well at school. Lovett went with his social worker from the hospital to register as a sophomore at Lee Edwards High School. Lovett felt a bit alone at first, but explains that Lee Edwards had several middle schools in Asheville that acted as feeder schools and many other students were also trying to find their place in this new environment. Lovett's initial goal was just to function while attending school.

Keywords: Activities; Adjustment period; Afraid; Alone; Approaches; Attitudes; Classes; Compulsions; Concern; Control; Dr. Norman Polansky; Expectations; Function; Grades; Improvisation; Lee Edwards High School (Asheville, N.C.); Registration; Routines; Scared; Small towns; Structure; Therapy; Treatments; Triggers; Williamsburg High School (Williamsburg, Ky.)

Subjects: Adolescence; Asheville (N.C.); Auditory hallucinations; Change; Chaos; Compulsive behavior; Diaries; Education; Fear; Hallucinations; High schools; Highland Hospital (Asheville, N.C.); Learning; Mental health; Mental illness; Mental illness--Treatment; Middle schools; Parents; Personality; Pressure; Psychotherapy; Public schools; Punishment; Satisfaction; Schizoaffective disorders; Schizophrenia; Social workers; Sports; Stigma; Stress; Students; Studying; Survival; Teachers; Teaching; Teenagers; Uncertainty; Volleyball; Williamsburg (Ky.); Worry

Partial Transcript: So, take me back to that first day.

Segment Synopsis: Many years after high school, Lovett discovered that his teachers were probably not aware of his mental illness and that he was a patient at Highland Hospital. Lovett is torn between feeling that the school was trying to protect him from the stigma attached to mental illness at the time and gross negligence in terms of the teachers and their limited ability to care for his needs, since they did not know he had a mental illness. Lovett states that Dr. Polansky did not expect him to get good grades, but Lovett still put pressure on himself to do well in school. Lovett enrolled with the sophomore class at Lee Edwards and took a lighter course load to help him adjust. Lovett had frequent meetings with Dr. Polansky and his social worker at the hospital on his progress in school. Lovett felt supported and cared for by his social worker, and believed that she acted as a liaison between Lovett's school and the doctors at Highland. Lovett adds that it was quite risky for Highland and its reputation to send a teenage patient to the local high school, but some other young patients joined Lovett at Lee Edwards during his second semester.

Keywords: Awareness; Concern; Doctors; Dr. Norman Polansky; Elizabeth Harkins; Expectations; Failure; First day; Grades; Lee Edwards High School (Asheville, N.C.); Patients; Physical education; Registration day; Schedules; Sophomores, High school; Study hall; Studying; Surveillance; Typing; Williamsburg High School (Williamsburg, Ky.)

Subjects: Adolescence; Asheville (N.C.); Books; Caring; Communication; Education; English; French; Friendships; Geometry; High schools; Highland Hospital (Asheville, N.C.); Mental health; Mental illness; Monitoring; Mothers; Pressure; Progress; Protection; Public schools; Risk; Schizoaffective disorders; Schizophrenia; School principals; Social workers; Staff; Stigma; Stress; Teachers; Teaching; Teenagers; Williamsburg (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: So, so okay, so you have registration day. What do you remember--take me to that--take me to your first day of class in a new school.

Segment Synopsis: Lovett would take the city bus to school in the morning and gradually adjusted to his new routine. Lovett does not have any vivid memories of his time at Lee Edwards High School, which he assumes means that it was not a very traumatic event and was a good experience for him overall. Dr. Polansky told Lovett that he was making more progress in psychotherapy while attending school. Lovett's mother was concerned that her son would put too much pressure on himself to succeed academically and have a nervous breakdown. Lovett had a compulsion to make good grades, despite his attempts to derive pleasure simply from learning. Later in life, when Lovett worked as a teacher, he tried to challenge students and avoid busy work to help them cultivate a passion for learning. Lovett explains that his hallucinations were commanding him to make good grades, while his mother and Dr. Polansky were telling him to relax and enjoy school. When Lovett went to college, he began to put less pressure on himself to make good grades. When Lovett returned from Asheville, he put less pressure on himself to make good grades at Williamsburg High School. Lovett was now in the junior class at Williamsburg High School, instead of a senior, and did not try to excel in athletics, academics, or music like he previously had as a sophomore.

Keywords: Adjustment period; Band; Beliefs; Busy work; Challenges; Classes; Colleges; Competitiveness; Compulsions; Concerns; Decisions; Dr. Norman Polansky; Function; Grades; Learning; Lee Edwards High School (Asheville, N.C.); Lunch periods; Memories; Montford Street (Asheville, N.C.); Pritchard Park (Asheville, N.C.); Progress; Readiness; Regrets; Routines; Schedules; Williamsburg High School (Williamsburg, Ky.); Zillicoa Street (Asheville, N.C.)

Subjects: Adolescence; Asheville (N.C.); Athletics; Auditory hallucinations; Buses; Change; Commute; Compulsive behavior; Education; Fear; Hallucinations; Health; High schools; Highland Hospital (Asheville, N.C.); Kentucky; Learning; Mental health; Mental illness; Mental illness--Treatment; Mothers; Participation; Perfection; Pressure; Psychotherapy; Public schools; Schizoaffective disorders; Schizophrenia; Stress; Students; Survival; Teachers; Teaching; Teenagers; Walking; Williamsburg (Ky.); Worry

Partial Transcript: And see, here again you're talking about your volleyball.

Segment Synopsis: While at Highland Hospital, Dr. Polansky used the real-world environment of school to help Lovett test out coping strategies and positive behaviors to help him function. Dr. Polansky began to ask Lovett what would happen if he did not follow through on his compulsions. In order to learn to cope with his mental illness, Lovett needed to trust in Dr. Polansky and listen to his voice rather than his hallucinations. Attending school allowed Lovett to experiment with making decisions quickly, which helped in managing his compulsions.

Keywords: Arguments; Beliefs; Christianity; Decisions; Demons; Dr. Norman Polansky; Functioning; Gradual processes; Lee Edwards High School (Asheville, N.C.); Therapy

Subjects: Auditory hallucinations; Change; Choices; Compulsive behavior; Education; Hallucinations; High schools; Highland Hospital (Asheville, N.C.); Identity; Mental health; Mental illness; Mental illness--Treatment; Pressure; Psychotherapy; Public schools; Schizoaffective disorders; Schizophrenia; Trust; Understanding; Volleyball

Partial Transcript: So at some point you mentioned a few minutes ago, um, that one of his goals was to, you know, go to school...

Segment Synopsis: Lovett tried out for baseball while attending Lee Edwards High School, but felt embarrassed since he had not practiced in a long time. Lovett played sports in gym class and enjoyed the opportunity to play with the varsity basketball players during gym. Lovett also did square dancing in school, which he says is a major part of the culture in Asheville. Lovett also participated in recreational activities in the evenings at Highland Hospital, including volleyball and dances on the weekends. Lovett felt supported by his fellow patients and enjoyed talking to them when he had time (since he spent most nights studying). Lovett says he made some friends while attending Lee Edwards High School, but focused more on making good grades than socializing. Lovett attended basketball games, but otherwise was unable to attend many social events at his high school. Highland Hospital had a curfew, and Lovett had to get permission to leave the hospital grounds after a certain time. Lovett enjoyed attending basketball games with his brother and parents when they visited. Lovett describes Lee Edwards as having lots of school spirit and an atmosphere that he likened to the hustle and bustle of big cities. Lovett recalls that former Chicago Cardinals football player Charlie Justice came to speak at homecoming. Lovett also went to the circus with several other Highland Hospital patients. The next morning, Lovett says a patient escaped from the hospital, which was the only time that a patient had escaped while Lovett lived at Highland.

Keywords: Attention; Camaraderie; Charlie "Choo-Choo" Justice; Decisions; Disappointment; Doug Ponder; Escape; Extracurricular activities; Failure; Fun; Goals; Grades; Lee Edwards High School (Asheville, N.C.); Mistakes; Pep rallies; Physical education (P.E.); Relationships; Socialization; Support; Trumpet players; Volleyball; Weekends; Williamsburg High School (Williamsburg, Ky.)

Subjects: Adolescence; Asheville (N.C.); Athletics; Baseball; Basketball; Brothers; Chicago Cardinals (Football team); Circuses; Communication; Communities; Curfews; Dance; Education; Football; Friendships; Geometry; High schools; Highland Hospital (Asheville, N.C.); Homecoming; Mental health; Mental illness; Music; Parents; Patients; Public schools; Recreation; Risk; Schizoaffective disorders; Schizophrenia; Socialization; Softball; Songs; Sports; Square dancing; Students; Studying; Teenagers; Williamsburg (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: I--I'll--I'll give you another instance that happened when I came back to Williamsburg.

Segment Synopsis: Upon returning from Asheville, Lovett visited a traveling carnival with his friends. At the carnival, Lovett had a traumatic experience in which a crowd of people pressured him to play a carnival game. Lovett does not like that sort of atmosphere to this day because of this traumatic experience. He relates this experience to an episode of one of his favorite television shows, "The Fugitive."

Keywords: Atmosphere; Attitudes; Carnival barkers; Carnival booths; Carnival games; Carnivals; Colleges; Dr. Richard Kimble; Peer pressure; Rag tag; The Fugitive (Television series); Tom Gardner; Traveling carnivals; Uncomfortable; William Conrad

Subjects: Adolescence; Childhood; Dogs; Kentucky; Mental health; Mental illness; Pressure; Recreation; Schizoaffective disorders; Schizophrenia; Teenagers; Television; Television programs; Trauma; Williamsburg (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: You said, "How fun."

Segment Synopsis: Through psychotherapy, Lovett was able to derive more pleasure from recreational activities. For instance, while at Highland Hospital, Lovett had fun dancing with his friend despite embarrassment he felt from being a bad dancer. Lovett adds that he participated in a Christian group at Lee Edwards High School called First Watch.

Keywords: Beliefs; Dances; Dr. Norman Polansky; Enjoyment; Extracurricular activities; First Watch (Christian school group); Fun; Functioning; Lee Edwards High School (Asheville, N.C.); Routines; Therapy

Subjects: Adolescence; Asheville (N.C.); Christianity; Friendships; Happiness; High schools; Highland Hospital (Asheville, N.C.); Mental health; Mental illness; Music; Psychotherapy; Public schools; Recreation; Religion; Schizoaffective disorders; Schizophrenia; Teenagers

Partial Transcript: So, you're kind of--in school you're kind of, you're kind of cruising through, right?

Segment Synopsis: Lovett recalls that he received lots of support from his friends and family back home while staying at Highland Hospital. Lovett states that he left Highland Hospital after about a year, since the health insurance his parents had acquired that covered his treatment was set to expire. Lovett says that his father had a difficult time finding health insurance that would cover his stay at Highland and it would have been difficult financially to keep Lovett at Highland without health insurance. An important part of Lovett's psychotherapy was visits from his parents and brother every couple of weeks. Several other family members also visited Lovett in Asheville. Lovett received many letters and words of encouragement from people back in Williamsburg. Lovett states that his hometown was a very supportive place and the community often rallied around people in need.

Keywords: Community; Dr. Norman Polansky; Family; Friendships; High schools; Lee Edwards Hospital (Asheville, N.C.); Mail; Support; Transitions; Visiting; Visits; Weekends

Subjects: Asheville (N.C.); Brothers; Communication; Communities; Correspondence; Cousins; Families.; Fathers; Grandfathers; Grandmothers; Health insurance; Highland Hospital (Asheville, N.C.); Kentucky; Letters; Mental health; Mental illness; Money; Neighbors; Parents; Psychotherapy; Schizoaffective disorders; Schizophrenia; Williamsburg (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: So, you're finishing up your year as a student. Do you know you're gonna be leaving the hospital at the end of the semester?

Segment Synopsis: In preparing to leave Highland Hospital, Lovett had to be ready to use the coping skills Dr. Polansky taught him, so that he could function at home. Lovett had become accustomed to the structure of institutional life, and knew that it would be difficult to establish new routines in Williamsburg. When Lovett would come home to visit his family for the holidays, Dr. Polansky assigned Lovett homework, which was to observe how he reacted to his family (in case his compulsive behavior worsened when he came home). Lovett's family was worried about how he would re-adjust to life in Williamsburg and that he might regress in the progress he had made in coping with his mental illness. Lovett knew that he would use the mantras that Dr. Polansky had given him when he left the hospital for good and realized that in order to be independent, Lovett needed to learn how to function.

Keywords: Abandonment; Adjustment periods; Afraid; Airplanes; Anger; Assignments; Compulsions; Concerns; Dr. Norman Polansky; Emotional separation; Family; Functioning; Institutions; Leaving; Lee Edwards High School (Asheville, N.C.); Mother image; Practice; Preparations; Process; Reactions; Routines; Schedules; Support; Symptoms; Therapy tools; Voices

Subjects: Asheville (N.C.); Auditory hallucinations; Communities; Compulsive behavior; Coping; Education; Emotions; Fear; Hallucinations; High schools; Highland Hospital (Asheville, N.C.); Holidays; Home; Institutions; Knoxville (Tenn.); Mantras; Mental health; Mental illness; Mental illness--Treatment; Mothers; Parents; Patients; Psychotherapy; Public schools; Schizoaffective disorders; Schizophrenia; Self; Super-ego; Travel; Trust; Uncertainty; Williamsburg (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: Um, so people had left you.

Segment Synopsis: Lovett was not surprised when he learned that he was going to be discharged from Highland Hospital. Lovett says that his fifteen-month stay was abnormal and that most patients had already come and gone in the intervening months that Lovett was at Highland. Lovett felt well and ready to go home, but backslid a bit upon seeing his now-wife upon returning. In retrospect, Lovett thinks he was not ready for a relationship so soon after coming back from Highland. Lovett also talks about his enjoyment of baseball at the time.

Keywords: Adjustment periods; Challenges; Leaving; Mixed feelings; Problems; Therapy tools

Subjects: Asheville (N.C.); Asheville Tourists (Baseball team); Baseball; Baseball players; Compulsive behavior; Confidence; Coping; Emotions; Highland Hospital (Asheville, N.C.); Home; Interpersonal relations; McCormick Field (Asheville, N.C.); Mental health; Mental illness; Mental illness--Treatment; Minor league baseball; Patients; Pittsburgh Pirates (Baseball team); Schizoaffective disorders; Schizophrenia; Williamsburg (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: One of the--I've got to work this in some way or another.

Segment Synopsis: While living in Asheville, Lovett and his family had the opportunity to see Billy Graham preach at McCormick Field. Lovett found this experience to be very impactful, and also was able to listen to Billy Graham preach at the First Baptist Church in Asheville. Lovett has great admiration for Billy Graham, and dislikes the portrayal of Graham on a recent episode of the PBS TV series "American Experience."

Keywords: American Experience (Television show); Billy Graham; Cliff Barrows; First Baptist Church (Asheville, N.C.); Journals; Public speakers; Speaking; Televangelism; Young people

Subjects: Adolescence; Asheville (N.C.); Autographs; Baptists; Christianity; Christians; Fame; Highland Hospital (Asheville, N.C.); McCormick Field (Asheville, N.C.); Mental health; Mental illness; North Carolina; Parents; Preaching; Rain; Religion; Schizoaffective disorders; Schizophrenia; Sermons; Teenagers; Youth

Partial Transcript: We cannot go through 1961 in the fall without talking a little bit about Roger Maris and Babe Ruth.

Segment Synopsis: In the fall of 1961, while Lovett was staying at Highland Hospital, a momentous year was taking place in Major League Baseball. Lovett explains that the league had experienced an expansion that year and had also witnessed a showdown between New York Yankees teammates Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris over who would overtake Babe Ruth for the most homeruns by a baseball player in a single season. Lovett says that people were either rooting for Maris or Mantle, and some people, like Lovett, did not want either player to overtake Babe Ruth's record. Lovett recalls that he watched from Highland Hospital when Maris beat Babe Ruth's record after Mantle had been injured earlier in the season. Lovett enjoyed baseball and was a big fan of the Cincinnati Reds growing up, and was thrilled in 1961 when the Reds took on the Yankees in the Pennant.

Keywords: 1961 Major League Baseball expansion draft; American League (Baseball); Babe Ruth; Breaking records; Excitement; Expansion teams; Homerun chase; Homerun records; Homeruns (Baseball); Mickey Mantle; National League (Baseball); Roger Maris; The Year Babe Ruth Hit 104 Home Runs: Recrowning Baseball's Greatest Slugger (Book)

Subjects: Adolescence; Asheville (N.C.); Baseball; Baseball announcers; Baseball players; Childhood; Cincinnati (Ohio); Cincinnati Reds (Baseball team); Crosley Field (Cincinnati, Ohio); Early life; Fans; Fathers; Grandmothers; Highland Hospital (Asheville, N.C.); Major League Baseball (Organization); New York Yankees (Baseball team); Newspapers; Nineteen sixties; Nostalgia; Pennants; Pitching (Baseball); Pressure; Radio; Sports records; Stress; Teenagers; Television; World Series (Baseball); Writing; Yankee Stadium (New York, N.Y. : 1923-2009)