Two Wyoming Valley natives working on Super Bowl LVI field

George Toma has a new member of his Super Bowl grounds crew — and it’s a familiar face.

Toma, who will turn 93 on Wednesday, Feb. 2 is again heading the crew charged with preparing the field at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

And his “crew of captains” has a new member — Jordan Choman, 23, of Hanover Township, a graduate of Holy Redeemer High School and a member of The Washington Football Team’s grounds crew.

These two Wyoming Valley natives, separated by 70 years, are working together to get the field ready.

This will be the 56th Super Bowl that Toma has been in charge of field preparations and if you’re paying attention, this is Super Bowl LVI — the 56th super Bowl in modern NFL history.

And that means Toma has been at every one of the games — starting with a skeleton crew for Super Bowl I between the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs, to the Feb. 13 match-up between two teams that will be decided today.

Toma’s heart belongs to two places: Kansas City, where he lived since 1957, and the Wyoming Valley — he grew up in Edwardsville and he learned his trade at Artillery Park.

Toma likes to tell people back home that their fingerprints are on every blade of grass of every Super Bowl that he has prepared. And he means that. He loves “the Valley with a Heart,” and Polish food.

This year, the Super Bowl field will have two sets of fingerprints from Wyoming Valley — Toma’s and Choman’s.

Toma said he looks forward to the Super Bowl every year. He said it gets bigger and better each year and he says he feels honored to have been part of all 56.

George always says, “I give it my all — and then some.”

Wyoming Valley connection

Well, this year Toma has a helper he has enjoyed talking to every day — Choman, who was selected to be a part of the crew for Super Bowl LVI, representing the Washington franchise.

When Toma found out where Choman was from, they two bonded immediately.

Choman said he graduated from Penn State with a degree in turf science. He played baseball at Holy Redeemer.

Choman is the youngest of five children of Matt and Maria Choman of Oxford Street, Hanover Township. He now lives in Reston, Va.

Choman has two sisters, Ashlee and Kathryn, and two brothers, Christian and Matthew.

Choman said he and Toma talk all the time while working on the two practice fields for the Super Bowl teams — one at UCLA and the other at El Camino College. SoFi Stadium is home to the Los Angeles Rams, who are playing the San Francisco 49ers today in the NFC final. The Cincinnati Bengals are playing Toma’s beloved Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC final.

Choman said it’s been an honor to meet Toma and to learn from him.

“He’s a legend,” Choman said of Toma. “He has made so many improvements to the groundskeeping business. And he loves to talk about the Wyoming Valley.”

Choman said Toma has asked him about how things are back home, mentioning several places, especially Patte’s Sports Bar, owned by Toma’s pal Pat Patte.

Choman said his first groundskeeping job was at the Wyoming Valley Country Club. He said he did an internship with the Las Vegas Raiders, his favorite NFL team.

Choman said his career goal is to one day be the head groundskeeper for an NFL team.

“I love that I’m not stuck working in a cubicle someplace,” he said. “I love getting my hands dirty and then watch the game played on the field I helped prepare.”

Choman said he has been mowing the grass and painting the field so far in LA. He said the work will pick up on Monday when the Super Bowl teams are set.

“I really never realized how much work goes into all of this,” Choman said. “Just being here and watching everything and, of course, being around Mr. Toma, have made it an incredible experience.”

The Toma story

A Korean War veteran, Toma gets as much pleasure out of preparing the Super Bowl field as he did laying out a Wiffle Ball field in his neighbor’s back yard. That field hosts a tournament every year for charity, and it has raised several hundreds of thousands of dollars for veterans programs.

On June 25, 2014, Toma returned to his native turf, paying a visit to Artillery Park where he learned his trade of groundskeeping.

That knowledge, learned under the tutelage of his Edwardsville neighbor, Stan Scheckler, sent Toma on a storied career as head groundskeeper for all 55 Super Bowls. He made his name at football stadiums, but a Wyoming Valley baseball park is where he started his career.

“I’ve lived in Kansas City since 1957, but this is my home,” Toma said. “The Valley With A Heart is where I tell everybody I’m from. The people here are like family. If it weren’t for what I learned here at this place, I wouldn’t be where I am today. This will always be my home town.”

Toma started hanging around at the park with Scheckler around 1941. Toma was a 12-year-old who had lost his father two years earlier and Scheckler took him under his wing. Toma watched and listened and worked hard, learning his trade.

In 1946, Toma became head groundskeeper at Artillery and Scheckler took over driving the team bus and doubled as the trainer.

Toma has come a long way from Swallow Street in Edwardsville, but he has made the journey and he has never forgotten his roots.

It’s been quite a journey, one that always leads back to Swallow Street and Edwardsville — which is proudly displayed on his Super Bowl credentials.

Know that Wyoming Valley is a part of the game — it always has been. And as NFL Field Director Ed Mangan has said time and again. “It wouldn’t be a Super Bowl without George Toma.”

And follow Toma’s example — “Always give it your all — and then some.”