June Carter Cash
Famous Fiction Authors
Donna Summer
Angelina Jolie
My Ghost Story
I Survived
Babe Ruth
Johnny Cash
Georgia O'Keefe
I Survived
2 photos
Quick Facts
- NAME: Pelé
- OCCUPATION: Soccer Player
- BIRTH DATE: October 23, 1940 (Age: 72)
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Três Corações, Brazil
- Originally: Edison Arantes do Nascimento
- Nickname: "Pérola Negra"
- Nickname: "O Rei"
- AKA: Pelé
- Nickname: "Black Pearl"
- Nickname: "The King"
- ZODIAC SIGN: Scorpio
Best Known For
A member of three Brazilian World Cup-champion teams, Pelé is considered by many to be the greatest soccer player of all time.
Quiz
Think you know about Biography?
Answer questions and see how you rank against other players.
Play NowPelé. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 09:54, May 18, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/pel%C3%A9-39221.
Pelé. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/pel%C3%A9-39221 [Accessed 18 May 2013].
"Pelé." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 18 2013, 09:54 http://www.biography.com/people/pel%C3%A9-39221.
"Pelé," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/pel%C3%A9-39221 [accessed May 18, 2013].
"Pelé," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/pel%C3%A9-39221 (accessed May 18, 2013).
Pelé [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 18] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/pel%C3%A9-39221.
Pelé, http://www.biography.com/people/pel%C3%A9-39221 (last visited May 18, 2013).
Pelé. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/pel%C3%A9-39221. Accessed May 18, 2013.
Synopsis
Born on October 23, 1940, in Três Corações, Brazil, soccer legend Pelé became a superstar with his performance in the 1958 World Cup. Pelé played professionally in Brazil for two decades, winning three World Cups along the way, before joining the New York Cosmos late in his career. Named FIFA co-Player of the Century in 1999, he is a global ambassador for soccer and other humanitarian causes.
Quotes
"I was born to play football, just like Beethoven was born to write music and Michelangelo was born to paint."
Childhood
Pelé was born Edson Arantes do Nascimento on October 23, 1940 in Três Corações, Brazil, the first child of João Ramos and Dona Celeste. Named after Thomas Edison and nicknamed "Dico," Pelé moved with his family to the city of Bauru as a young boy.
João Ramos, better known as "Dondinho," struggled to earn a living as a soccer player, and Pelé grew up in poverty. Still, he developed a rudimentary talent for soccer by kicking a rolled-up sock stuffed with rags around the streets of Bauru. The origin of the "Pelé" nickname is unclear, though he recalled despising it when his friends first referred to him that way.
As an adolescent, Pelé joined a youth squad coached by Waldemar de Brito, a former member of the Brazilian national soccer team. De Brito eventually convinced Pelé's family to let the budding phenom leave home and try out for the Santos professional soccer club when he was 15.
Soccer's National Treasure
Pelé signed with Santos and immediately started practicing with the team's regulars. He scored the first professional goal of his career before he turned 16, led the league in goals in his first full season and was recruited to play for the Brazilian national team.
The world was officially introduced to Pelé in the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. Displaying remarkable speed, athleticism and field vision, the 17-year-old erupted to score three goals in a 5-2 semifinal win over France, then netted two more in the finals, a 5-2 win over the host country.
The young superstar received hefty offers to play for European clubs, and Brazilian President Jânio Quadros eventually had Pelé declared a national treasure, making it legally difficult for him to play in another country. Regardless, Santos club ownership ensured its star attraction was well paid by scheduling lucrative exhibition matches with teams around the world.
More World Cup Titles
Pelé aggravated a groin injury two games into the 1962 World Cup in Chile, sitting out the final rounds while Brazil went on to claim its second straight title. Four years later, in England, a series of brutal attacks by opposing defenders again forced him to the sidelines with leg injuries, and Brazil was bounced from the World Cup after one round.
Despite the disappointment on the world stage, the legend of Pelé continued to grow. In the late 1960s, the two factions in the Nigerian Civil War reportedly agreed to a 48-hour ceasefire so they could watch Pelé play in an exhibition game in Lagos.
profile name: Pelé profile occupation:
Your Connections
Sign in with Facebook to see how you and your friends are connected to famous icons.
Profile Connections
Included In These Groups
-
Name Changers
View groupIn entertainment, where the line between fiction and reality is often blurry, names are a crucial part of a celebrity's image. Stage names are often chosen to make an actor or musician's name easier to pronounce or remember, or simply to make it sounds more attractive. Here are famous celebrities who have changed their names.
Name Changers 236 people in this group
-
Famous Scorpios 503 people in this group
-
Famous Soccer Players
View groupTo Americans, it is soccer. Elsewhere, it is called football, calcio or nogomet. Whatever your preference, with estimates of more than 250 million participants across 200-plus countries, it is a game of unmatched global reach and popularity. It's been noted that one doesn't need special size or skills to play, but of course the game's all-time greats displayed dazzling combinations of speed, smarts and athletic ability throughout their careers. Look through our roster of soccer legends, including Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Diego Maradona, and you'll understand why this sport of many names is also known as "the beautiful game."
Famous Soccer Players 24 people in this group
