George Toma, 88, to help prepare Super Bowl field for 51st time

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Super Bowl LI will be played on artificial turf in Houston, the birthplace of fake grass, but there's still work to be done for George Toma, the veteran groundskeeper who has helped prepare the field for each of the first 50 Super Bowls.

Toma, who turns 88 on Feb. 2 but continues to work as a consultant for the NFL, watched from the sidelines as an all-star crew of groundskeepers from other NFL teams applied logo designs to the stadium end zones, one of the many tasks that will occupy hundreds of workers leading up to the game Feb. 5.

"This is one of the best artificial fields that we've played on," Toma said of NRG Stadium's new field, which was manufactured by TurfNation of Dalton, Ga., 90 miles northwest of Atlanta.

While discussing some of the innovations he has helped bring to field preparation, such as using lasers to ensure straight lines and splash guards for use by field painters, Toma also took a moment to recall the first Super Bowl in 1967 between the Chiefs and Packers.

He said he stood next to two Packers equipment managers, a father and son, speculating on what Green Bay coach Vince Lombardi would do the next day to beat Kansas City.

"The dad said, 'What will coach Lombardi do? He comes up with something big for every game,'" Toma said. "So he had Max McGee, who had been out drinking all night the night before, come into the game and (catch two touchdown passes). That's what I remember from the first game."

Groundskeeper George Toma walks onto the field as the turf is prepared for painting as NRG Stadium is prepared for Super Bowl LI on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017, in Houston. The New England Patriots play the Atlanta Falcons on February 5, for the NFL title. less Groundskeeper George Toma walks onto the field as the turf is prepared for painting as NRG Stadium is prepared for Super Bowl LI on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017, in Houston. The New England Patriots play the Atlanta ... more Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 26 Caption Close George Toma, 88, to help prepare Super Bowl field for 51st time 1 / 26 Back to Gallery

Toma began working as a groundskeeper at age 12 in his hometown of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and at 16 was hired by Bill Veeck to work for the Cleveland Indians. He has spent most of his career in Kansas City, where he said the grass was so well-kept that no resodding was required after a Beatles concert and a Billy Graham revival meeting.