KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When George Toma was inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in October, the former groundskeeper at Municipal Stadium and the Truman Sports Complex in Kansas City, Missouri, thanked all his former employees.
“If it wasn’t for these people and their parents, there would be no George Toma today, and I say this worldwide,” Toma recalled at a reunion of former groundskeepers.
KSHB 41 News attended the reunion at the former site of Municipal Stadium, 22nd Street and Brooklyn Avenue.
Most of Toma’s employees lived in the neighborhood and attended nearby Lincoln Preparatory Academy and Central High School. For some, the job turned into a career. For others, it was an entry point into the workforce.
Seven members of the Bruce family, all the brothers in the family of 12, worked for Toma at one point. Here are the stories of each member at the reunion.
Wilford Bruce, Jr.
The eldest Bruce brother began working at Municipal Stadium in 1962 when the Athletics were the hometown baseball team. He remembers As owner Charlie Finley fondly.
“He used to take us down to a BBQ place down here for lunch sometimes,” Wilford said.
After being drafted into the Army, Wilford became the director of landscaping for Truman Sports Complex. The job meant he was in charge of all the trees and grass surrounding the stadiums.
He held the position for decades and always appreciates Toma’s praise.
“That makes me feel good because he recognizes us and he knew we were part of the team, the big team,” Wilford said.
Gregory Bruce
He joined the grounds crew in 1964. His fondest memory is watching the longest game in NFL history, Chiefs vs. Dolphins on Dec. 25, 1971, from the field.
He also enjoyed working with his brothers.
“It was basically a lot of fun, a lot of fun. We had some sweet times,” he said. “The work was hard, of course, but we made it seem not so hard.”
Gregory was deployed to Vietnam during the war and now works in security.
Dennis Bruce
In 1969, Dennis started with the team, where he stayed for about 15 years.
After, he took a job with Sysco and started his own lawn service, which he still operates today: M&M Lawn Service.
Dennis remembers daily phone calls with Toma, who would use a pay phone in the tunnel underneath the Truman Sports Complex to assign Dennis his daily duties.
“I actually painted about four Super Bowls with Toma,” Dennis said. “Started with Super Bowl IX up until about Super Bowl XIV.”
Roland Bruce
He began working on the grounds crew at age 16 and made a career out of it. Roland was still a part of the team during the Royals' 2015 World Series victory and happily showed off his World Series ring at the reunion.
“Some of the things Toma taught us still stay with me,” said Roland, who described in detail how he fixed a patch of dead grass at his home.
Andre Bruce
Making a career out of groundskeeping, Andre began working after the teams moved to the Truman Sports Complex. He eventually worked exclusively with the Chiefs' grounds crew.
From 1991 to 2013, he led the grounds team.
“As a kid, you don’t know what you want to do, so you just follow them [older brothers]," Andre said. "Basically, I was doing that, watching what they were doing and making fun with it."
The longtime groundskeeper said he took pride in everything he did.
Reginald Bruce
He remembers shagging fly balls during batting practice with Amos Otis and mowing lawns of ballplayers during his time on the grounds crew.
“I did a little bit of everything once I learned it: seed, put lines down, everything,” Reginald said.
But Reginald made a career as a barbecue pit chef, working at Arthur Bryant’s for 35 years.
Elliott Bruce
The youngest Bruce brother remembered watching his older brothers work on the field. As a sports-loving teen, Elliott promised himself he would join them one day.
He began working with the crew in 1985, the year the Royals won their first World Series.
“I was on the field. I remember after that final out that [Darryl] Motley caught, I was told by George [Toma] to stand on the pitcher’s mound because the field was flooded with people from the stands and they were literally trying to dig up the pitcher's mound," Elliott said. "They were grabbing handfuls of dirt and sticking it in their pocket."
Melvin Duncan
After Toma saw him at a baseball game at Municipal Stadium one night, Melvin was asked to help pull the tarp over the field. Duncan said Toma’s job offer came with one condition: he had to remain in school at Lincoln Prep.
Living just a block away from Municipal Stadium, Duncan was on call when storms moved in.
“The security guard would call and say scramble! Scramble means you gotta scramble down here to the ballpark and get the field covered because rain is coming,” he said.
Duncan worked on the grounds crew for about 14 years. He then drove trucks mostly for the United States Postal Service.
Nelson Thomas
Thomas started off as a concessionaire and bat boy in 1969 before Toma brought him to the grounds crew that same season.
When the teams moved to the Truman Sports Complex, Thomas went a different path, pursuing a career in music.
“George Toma is a mentor to all of us, he brought us together,” Thomas said.
Now Thomas works on a foundation in Toma’s name to teach teenagers about lawn care, helping them launch their own businesses.
George Toma
Now in his 90s, Toma is retired, except for helping with Super Bowls.
Every time he speaks, he thanks the Bruce brothers and all the other members of the grounds crew in the late 60s and early 70s — like Phil Drake, Oscar Jones (cousin to the Bruces) and Chip Toma, Geroge’s son.
