Poly-Turf was a brand of artificial turf

Artificial turf

Artificial turf is a surface manufactured from synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commercial applications as well...

, manufactured by American Biltrite of Wellesley

Wellesley, Massachusetts

Wellesley is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of Greater Boston. The population was 27,982 at the time of the 2010 census.It is best known as the home of Wellesley College and Babson College...

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

. It was the first specifically designed for American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

. It had a patented layered structure which included a "shock pad" between the artificial grass and the asphalt sub-surface. It used polypropylene

Polypropylene

Polypropylene , also known as polypropene, is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications including packaging, textiles , stationery, plastic parts and reusable containers of various types, laboratory equipment, loudspeakers, automotive components, and polymer banknotes...

 for its artificial grass blades, rather than the nylon

Nylon

Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers known generically as polyamides, first produced on February 28, 1935, by Wallace Carothers at DuPont's research facility at the DuPont Experimental Station...

 used in AstroTurf

AstroTurf

AstroTurf is a brand of artificial turf. Although the term is a registered trademark, it is sometimes used as a generic description of any kind of artificial turf. The original AstroTurf product was a short pile synthetic turf while the current products incorporate modern features such as...

 and 3M

3M

3M Company , formerly known as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation based in Maplewood, Minnesota, United States....

's Tartan Turf.

History in Miami

Poly-Turf was installed at the City of Miami

City of Miami

This article is about the streamliner. For the city in Florida, see Miami.The City of Miami was a seven-car coach streamliner inaugurated by Illinois Central Railroad on December 18, 1940. Its route was from Chicago to Miami a total distance of ....

-owned Orange Bowl

Miami Orange Bowl

The Orange Bowl, formerly Burdine Stadium, was an outdoor athletic stadium in Miami, Florida, west of downtown in Little Havana. Considered a landmark, it was the home stadium for the Miami Hurricanes college football team...

 in 1970

1970 NFL season

The 1970 NFL season was the 51st regular season of the National Football League, and the first one after the AFL-NFL Merger.The merger forced a realignment between the combined league's clubs. Because there were 16 NFL teams and 10 AFL teams, three teams needed to transfer to balance the two new...

 and utilized for six seasons. The stadium was used for both college

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 and professional

Professional football

In the United States and Canada, the term professional football includes the professional forms of American and Canadian gridiron football. In common usage, it refers to former and existing major football leagues in either country...

 football, primarily by the University of Miami Hurricanes

Miami Hurricanes football

The Miami Hurricanes football program competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference of the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision for the University of Miami. The program began in 1926 and has won five AP national championships...

 and the Miami Dolphins

Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 of the NFL

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

. It also hosted the eponymous New Year's Day college bowl game

Orange Bowl

The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935 and celebrated its 75th playing on January 1, 2009...

, as well as Super Bowl

Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...

 games. The University of Nebraska Cornhuskers

Nebraska Cornhuskers football

The Nebraska Cornhuskers represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in college football. The program has established itself as a traditional powerhouse, and has the fourth-most all-time victories of any NCAA Division I-A team. Nebraska is one of only six football programs in NCAA Division I-A...

 won the first three Orange Bowl games played on Poly-Turf, which included two national championships. The first Super Bowl played on artificial turf was played on Poly-Turf in the Orange Bowl, on January 17, 1971, when the Baltimore Colts

1970 Baltimore Colts season

The 1970 Baltimore Colts season was the 18th season for the team in the National Football League. The Baltimore Colts finished the National Football League's 1970 season with a record of 11 wins, 2 losses and 1 tie. They won the AFC East...

 defeated the Dallas Cowboys

1970 Dallas Cowboys season

The 1970 Dallas Cowboys season was their 11th in the NFL. The club scored 299 points and allowed 221 points. For the fifth consecutive season, the Cowboys finished first in their division. In 1970, the club made its debut on Monday Night Football. The Cowboys lost to the St. Louis Cardinals 38–0...

 16-13 in Super Bowl V

Super Bowl V

Super Bowl V was an American football game played on January 17, 1971, at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, to decide the National Football League champion following the 1970 regular season...

. The next Super Bowl at the stadium was the final game played on Poly-Turf in Miami; Super Bowl X

Super Bowl X

Super Bowl X was an American football game played on January 18, 1976 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1975 regular season....

 on January 18, 1976.

The longer polypropylene blades of Poly-Turf tended to mat down and become very slick under hot & sunny conditions. The field was replaced after two seasons, before the Dolphins' 1972

1972 Miami Dolphins season

The 1972 Miami Dolphins are the only National Football League team to win the Super Bowl with a perfect season. The undefeated campaign was led by coach Don Shula and notable players Bob Griese, Earl Morrall, and Larry Csonka...

 undefeated season, but the replacement only lasted four seasons. Over just six years, both installations deteriorated rapidly and some football players suffered an increasing number of leg and ankle injuries; some players claimed to trip over seams. The field discolored from green to blue due to the severe UV

Ultraviolet

Ultraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays, in the range 10 nm to 400 nm, and energies from 3 eV to 124 eV...

 nature of the Miami sun. The City of Miami removed the Poly-Turf in 1976 and re-installed natural grass (Prescription Athletic Turf (PAT)), which remained until the stadium's closure.

Other installations

Other NFL

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 stadiums which installed Poly-Turf included the New England Patriots

New England Patriots

The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...

' Schaefer Stadium

Foxboro Stadium

Foxboro Stadium was an outdoor stadium, located in Foxborough, Massachusetts...

 and the New Orleans Saints

New Orleans Saints

The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....

' Tulane Stadium

Tulane Stadium

Tulane Stadium was an outdoor football stadium located in New Orleans, Louisiana from 1926 to 1980. Officially known as the Third Tulane Stadium, it replaced the "Second Tulane Stadium" where the Telephone Exchange Building is now located...

, shared with Tulane

Tulane Green Wave football

The Tulane Green Wave football program is an NCAA Division I FBS football team that represents Tulane University in New Orleans. The team is a member of Conference USA and is led by interim head coach Mark Hutson, who took over on October 18, 2011, when fifth-year head coach Bob Toledo resigned...

 (also the home of the Sugar Bowl

Sugar Bowl

The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Sugar Bowl has been played annually since January 1, 1935, and celebrated its 75th anniversary on January 2, 2009...

). Notable college stadiums included Legion Field

Legion Field

Legion Field is a large stadium in Birmingham, Alabama, United States, primarily designed to be used as a venue for American football, but is occasionally used for other large outdoor events. The stadium is named in honor of the American Legion, a U.S. organization of military veterans. At its peak...

 in Birmingham

Birmingham, Alabama

Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...

, Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

, and Alumni Stadium

Alumni Stadium

Alumni Stadium is a football stadium located on the campus of Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, approximately sixmiles west of downtown Boston. The stadium lies within the city limits of Boston, although its postal address is Chestnut Hill. It is the home of the Boston College Eagles...

 at Boston College

Boston College

Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...

.

American Biltrite ceased production of Poly-Turf in 1973; 3M stopped the manufacture of its Tartan Turf in 1974, citing rising oil prices. This left Monsanto (AstroTurf) as the only major manufacturer of artificial turf until FieldTurf was started in the late 1980s.