Pelé

The King of Football

On 23 October 1940, in Três Corações, Brazil, the child of João Ramos and Dona Celeste was born and named Edson Arantes do Nascimento.^[1][2] Throughout his playing days, Pelé maintained a scoring rate of roughly one goal per match and possessed the ability to shoot accurately using both his left and right feet.^[3] Because of his football achievements and his vocal advocacy for pro-poor policies, Pelé was celebrated as a national hero within Brazil.^[3]

Quick Facts

Birth name: Edson Arantes do Nascimento
Birthplace: Três Corações, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Died: 29 December 2022
Place of death: São Paulo, Brazil
Resting place: Memorial Necrópole Ecumênica, Santos, São Paulo
Height: 1.73 m / 5 ft 8 in
Education: Metropolitan University of Santos (UNIMES)
Occupation: Footballer, humanitarian

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

In 1956, Waldemar de Brito took Pelé to Santos FC, telling the club's directors that the 15-year-old would be "the greatest football player in the world"^[4] Pelé made his senior debut on 7 September 1956 at age 15, scoring the first goal of his career in a 7–1 victory.^[5] Pelé came out of semi-retirement to sign with the New York Cosmos for the 1975 season.^[6] Pelé died on 29 December 2022 in São Paulo, Brazil.^[2]

Pelé's upbringing in Bauru, São Paulo, was marked by poverty, and as a child he worked as a server in tea shops to bring in money.^[7] His father instructed him in football, but since a real ball was unaffordable, Pelé often practiced using either a grapefruit or a sock filled with newspaper.^[7] Pelé reached his 1,000th goal across all competitions on 19 November 1969, converting a penalty kick versus Vasco da Gama at Maracanã Stadium.^[8]

What the cited sources add

A Guardian article by Lewis notes that Pelé told the author he was "retired from my team, Santos" and "retired from Brazil from the national team" when he decided to come to the United States in 1975.^[9] The same article states that during his three-year tenure in the States, Pelé helped ignite a soccer boom the USA is still feeling today.^[9] Lewis also reports that Pelé opened the door for many other stars to play in North America, with Giorgio Chinaglia, Franz Beckenbauer, and Carlos Alberto following him to the Cosmos.^[9] A Guardian article by Ronay describes Pelé as the first black global sporting superstar and a source of genuine uplift and inspiration.^[10]

Ronay also writes that Pelé was voted the most famous person in the world in 1970.^[10] The Biography.com account states that Pelé was awarded the International Peace Award in 1978 for his work with UNICEF.^[2]

References

Wikipedia, "Pelé" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Muere Celeste Arantes, madre de Pelé, a los 101 años", Infobae, 21 June 2024; Pelé Fish 1977, p. 18–19; "Morreu Zoca, o escudeiro do Rei", santosfc.com.br, 26 March 2020; Pelé 2008, p. 14; Pelé 2008, p. 14; Narcía, "Un siglo, diez historias", BBC World Service; Pelé Fish 1977, p. 18–19; "From Edson to Pelé: my changing identity", The Guardian, 12 May 2006; "From Edson to Pele: my changing identity", The Guardian; Pelé Fish 1977, p. 18–19; Winterman, "Taking the Pelé", BBC News, 4 January 2006 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
"Pelé", Biography.com, via A&E Television Networks. facts only, no text reused. biography.com
Wikipedia, "Pelé" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ronay, "Pelé's revolutionary status must survive numbers game against Lionel Messi", The Guardian, 1 January 2021; Ben Green, "Pele's legendary career told in numbers: Just how good was Brazil's emblematic forward?", squawka.com, 30 December 2022 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Pelé" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Massarela, "Exclusive interview: Pele on his Santos years", FourFourTwo, 7 September 2016; Marcus 1976, p. 20 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Pelé" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Da Mata, "Mesário da estréia de Pelé lembra atrapalhada", LANCE!, 26 October 2007 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Pelé" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Apple, "Pele to Play Soccer Here for $7-Million", The New York Times, 4 July 1975, p. A1 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Pelé" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Pelé Fish 1977, p. 18–19; "Pelé", Biography.com, via A&E Television Networks; Heizer 1997, p. 173; Magill 1999, p. 2950 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Pelé" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Why Pele's 1000th goal still matters, 50 years on", Sportstar, 19 November 2019; "Pelé v Apollo 12: how his race to 1,000 goals coincided with men on the moon", The Guardian (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Lewis, "How Pelé lit up soccer in America and left a legacy fit for a king", The Guardian, 30 September 2017. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com
Ronay, "Pelé's revolutionary status must survive numbers game against Lionel Messi", The Guardian, 1 January 2021. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Pelé (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.