Pelé << peh LAY >> (1940-2022), a Brazilian athlete, won fame as the greatest soccer player of his time and the most recognized athlete in world sports. A forward, Pelé electrified crowds with his daring dribbling, perfect passing, and accurate shooting. He holds every major scoring record in Brazil, and scored 1,281 goals in 1,363 games during his professional career. Pelé became the only professional soccer player to score 1,000 goals in a career.
Pelé was born on Oct. 23, 1940, in Três Corações, Brazil. His real name was Edson Arantes do Nascimento. Pelé joined the Santos (Brazil) Football Club in 1956 and led Santos to world club titles in 1962 and 1963. He became the only soccer player to play on three world championship teams, leading the Brazilian national team to World Cup championships in 1958, 1962, and 1970. Pelé retired as a player in 1974 but returned to competition in 1975 with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League (N.A.S.L.). Pelé retired again after leading the Cosmos to the N.A.S.L. championship in 1977. He wrote a children’s book about his life in soccer, For the Love of Soccer! (2010). Pelé died on Dec. 29, 2022.
