Pelé was born on Oct. 23, 1940 to Dondinho and Dona Celeste in Trê Corações (in the state of Minas Gerais). Pelé's father was a local professional football player who held the distinction of scoring five goals with his head in one game. As a kid, Pelé created his own reputation as a player in the city of Bauru. Former Brazilian World Cup player, Waldemar de Brito, noticed his skills and took him to Santos, a club team on the coast of Brazil. Pelé started his professional career at the age of 16 for Santos Futebol Clube scoring one goal in his first official game. It was not long after that, when he joined the Brazilian national team.
In 1958, the 17-year-old was selected to play for the Seleção at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. Pelé missed the first two games of the tournament with a knee injury. He made up for lost time by scoring the game-winning goal in the quarterfinals and a hat trick in the semifinals. After Pelé's two goals against Sweden in the final, his teammates lifted the child prodigy onto their shoulders and hoisted their country's first Jules Rimet Trophy. The 1958 World Cup revealed to the public the greatness of Pelé, in which this triumph was only the beginning. He became the youngest ever winner of a World Cup tournament and the youngest scorer in a World Cup Final. He later led Brazil to two more World Cup titles, in 1962 (Chile) and 1970 (Mexico). As of today, Pelé is the only football player to have won three World Cup tournaments and he remains the top scorer in the history of the Brazil National team with 77 goals.
In 1975, after 18 years with Santos FC where he won multiple international and national trophies, he joined the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League (NASL). During his three years in New York, Pelé led the Cosmos to the 1977 NASL title and brought great excitement to football and inspiration to young players in the United States. He capped off his career with an emotional farewell game on October 1, 1977, in a sold-out Giants Stadium, playing the first half with the Cosmos and the second half for Santos.
Since his retirement from football, Pelé continued to make positive contributions to the game and travels the world to interact with his fans. Named one of the 'Top 20 Most Important People of the 20th Century' (Time Magazine) and 'Football Player of the Century' (FIFA), Pelé today maintains his commitment to the sport and to society by fulfilling various roles as spokesperson, ambassador and philanthropist. In 2014, he was awarded the first ever FIFA Ballon d'Or Prix d'Honneur in recognition of his dazzling career and achievements.
