Born on October 23, 1940, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known to the world as Pelé, was a master, a king, a beautiful artist of the football field. Pelé's arrival into the world gives Tres Coracoes, Brazil, the status of a holy town, a Bethlehem of the footballer’s world, and though he was not born in a manger, the family that received him was certainly poor enough.
In 1956, after a few years of playing for a minor-league club, the fifteen year-old Pelé joined the Santos Football Club. Playing inside left forward, he helped win several South American Club’s cups, the 1962 World Club Championship, and three World Cup championships. The first of these World Cup victories was in 1958, Brazil vs. the Soviet Union. The final score was 1-0, the one-and-only goal of the game thanks to seventeen year-old Pelé.
Perola Negra (Black Pearl) was fast. He could score goals with both feet. He could score goals with his head. He could score goals upside-down in the air, falling falling down onto his back with crowds exploding into rapture all around him. He had an invisible thread which he spun like a spider, a thread that attached the ball to his feet while he danced around every opponent. He was a gymnast and a ballerina and a clown, jumping and rolling and swaying. He was a leaf in the wind and gravity had no hold on him. He could see what was going on all around him and anticipate what would happen next. He could anticipate like nobody's business. In the 1,363 matches of Pelé's professional career he scored 1,282 goals. That’s a lot of goals for a sport known for its low output on the points-per-game meter.
After Pelé's last game with Santos, the club removed the number 10 shirt from their line-up. Who could ever again do justice to Pelé's number?
Despite Pelé's retirement from the field in 1974, he was convinced (with the persuasive argument of a 4.5-million dollar contract), to make a comeback in 1975 for a three year stint with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League. His goal at this time was to "make soccer truly popular in the United States".
This artist, Pelé, could even play the guitar. He could write songs and he could write words to go with them. Have you seen the film Pelé? It's a film that somebody made about him, but he wrote all the songs in it. I have heard these songs and they are pretty. I have heard his voice and it sounds good. I like Pelé.
In 1978 Pelé received the International Peace Award, and in 1980 was named athlete of the century. After his retirement he served as the Minister of Sports in Brazil. He is known throughout the world for his kindness, his good-natured personality, and his love of the game which made him famous.