Toma was soon tending to the Cotton Bowl grass ahead of an NFL game – which aired on color television, no less – before preparing the field for Super Bowl I in 1967 in just five days.

"We only had five men in addition to myself, and Rozelle told me to find a way to get it done," Toma said. "I came up with a center logo for the 50-yard line which was a football with a crown on it along with the AFL and NFL logos. I put that on there, and then we painted the field exactly like it was at Municipal Stadium."

The design was an absolute hit, and in the 52 years since, Toma hasn't missed a Super Bowl. In fact, he was one of just a handful of individuals – which included Hunt's wife, Norma – to be honored on the field prior to Super Bowl 50 a few years back.

And despite the acclaim through a half-century of working Super Bowls and the Olympics, Toma never forgot the man – and the city - who helped make it all possible.