#138 | The "Sodfather" George Toma | The World's Foremost Authority on Professional Sports Playing Surfaces

George Toma | The Sodfather | The Nitty Gritty Dirt Man | March 24, 2023

• Pele quote: “The best field I ever played on was Wembley Stadium. The second best? Municipal Stadium in Kansas City.” 
  • Maintained by none other than our guest today, Mr. George Toma.
• At age 28, in 1957, he became the head groundskeeper for the Kansas City Athletics of Major League Baseball, a job he accepted precisely because the A’s and Municipal Stadium had such a notoriously poor history of groundskeeping.
• Triple Duty:  How difficult was it to maintain Municipal Stadium when it was housed by the Chiefs, Royals, & The Spurs. 
• Specialty of Astroturf maintenance VS grass - How does one study astroturf and it’s maintenance
• Witkowski - What is the field you are the most proud of for a game? Worst field you ever worked on?
• Do people still ask you for tips on residential lawn care? Do you still maintain your lawn here at home?
• Comments from many listeners on how they used to watch the lowly KC A’s but the field always looked so beautiful.  
  • On the broadcasts Monty Moore would go on and on about the grounds crew, how fast they could groom the field in the 5th and how quickly they could get the tarp down when it started raining.
• Pressure/Expectations: Did the nerves ever go away before a large sporting event?
• What have you enjoyed most about your role with so many major Pro Sports franchises and events?
• Widows & Kids - Rumor has it that you use to help out around the city with caring for widows’ lawns & carrying around a bag full of baseballs to give out to kids?
• Batters Box - Did you ever find the keys to the batter's box? 🙂
• Cost - What does it cost to get the field ready for:
  • Average mid-summer’s MLB game
  • NFL Sunday game
  • Super Bowl
• Insurance - “The cheapest insurance for any athlete, no matter the age, is a good playing field.”
• Paul McCartney - You guys still keep in touch?

Special Cuts of Grass - How do they cut the grass to where you can see the crown or other symbols in the grass?

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