CANTON, Ohio - George Toma, playing field consultant and career groundskeeper for the National Football League, received the Daniel F. Reeves Pioneer Award at an Aug. 3 awards ceremony signifying the beginning of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Enshrinement Weekend celebration.
Presented periodically by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the name of the late Daniel F. Reeves, former owner of the Los Angeles Rams, the Pioneer Award honors an individual whose innovative ideas have contributed to the game of professional football. Toma is only the sixth recipient of the Pioneer Award, the last being NFL Films voice John Facenda in 1995.
Toma, considered a master at his trade, is sport's preeminent groundskeeper, according to the Hall of Fame. His innovations, expert care and preservation of pro football's championship fields, including all 35 Super Bowls, has earned him widespread recognition and acclaim during his 60-year career in turf.
Toma was introduced to field preparation at age 13 by the groundskeeper at Artillery Park in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. The groundskeeper hired Toma to rake the infield before Wilkes-Barre Barons games. Then, four years later, Bill Veeck named Toma to the position of head groundskeeper for the Wilkes-Barre Indians of Baseball's Class A Eastern League.
In 1957, after a steady progression through baseball's minor leagues, Toma was named head groundskeeper for the Kansas City Athletics. Then in 1963, the Kansas City Chiefs of the young American Football League hired Toma to provide the same services for their football field, which he did until 1990. Additionally, he was head groundskeeper for Major League Baseball’s Kansas City Royals from 1969 to 1995.
The Hall of Fame said Toma's ability to revive and maintain playing fields is legendary. In 1966 he was hired by the NFL to prepare the field for the first Super Bowl - a role he continues today with 35 straight Super Bowls under his belt. The "god of sod," as he is called, has served as a consultant for several NFL teams that have faced problems with playing surfaces. Toma has also been the NFL's representative at overseas America Bowl Games and a variety of neutral site games, including the annual Pro Bowl in Hawaii for 31 straight years.
When asked what his secret is to preparing such high-quality turf, Toma told the Kansas City Star: "The secret is two things. You have to be able to look at the grass, and you have to be able to smell it. You can run all the soil tests you want, but I can find out almost everything I need to do by look and smell."