The Pelé Museum in Santos

     I am inspired by sport movies. If I like one, I tend to watch it multiple times. In divulging this, I myself am kind of surprised that I am not a paragon of fitness. To explain that, however, would require several blogs and probably years of psychotherapy.
     My favorites include the Pride of the Yankees, Jim Thorpe – All American, Knute Rockne All American (and yes, Rudy as well), Remember the Titans, Miracle, Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius, The Express, and, lately, Pelé: Birth of a Legend. I have probably watched the Pelé movie a dozen times in total or part in the past year. This movie is the story of the great Brazilian soccer player Edson Arantes do Nascimento who from a young age was simple known as Pelé. He was born on October 23, 1945 and is generally considered the greatest soccer player of all time. In 1999, the International Olympic Committee named him the Athlete of the Century.
     The film covers his childhood, recruitment by the Santos Futebol Clube (SFC) at the age of 15, and ended with his pivotal role helping Brazil win its first World Cup in 1958 when he was just 17. Pelé grew up in the town of Bauru living in poverty. He honed his soccer skills on the streets and dirt fields of Bauru using a ball fashioned of a sock stuffed with rags. His skills in Bauru got him noticed by Waldemir de Brito, a famous soccer player in his right who became a scout in retirement, who brought him to the SFC.
     Pelé was an immediate sensation in Santos.  He was named to the Brazilian National Team that was to go to the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. Pelé became an international star and sensation leading to Brazil’s first World Cup. He broke out in the final two games scoring three goals in Brazil’s 5-2 semifinal win over France. He scored two more goals in their 5-2 win in the championship game against the heavily favored host team of Sweden.
     Per biography.com:

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.

     Pelé was known for his unbelievable footwork with the ball, his incredible acceleration, and accuracy in making amazingly difficult shots. It is safe, even for a soccer neophyte like me, to say that he revolutionized the game. He is known for his bicycle kick that seemed to define both gravity and possibility.

Pelé Bicycle Kick - sportskeeda.com 

     Pelé was a member of the Brazilian National Team in 1962, 1966, and 1970. Brazil with Pelé won two more World Cups in 1962 and 1970. He retired from soccer in 1974 but was enticed out of retirement to play for the New York Cosmos of the fledgling North American Soccer League giving the league immediate credibility.  Over all, Pelé played in 1,363 and is the leading scorer, ever, with 1,261 goals.
     Today, we visited the port town of Santos. We visited the Pelé Museum which was full of memorabilia and dozens of film clips showing Pelé’s most famous goals. It was amazing to be there. Not everyone in our tour group knew who Pelé was and were surprised that he and not Michael Jordon or Muhammad Ali was named Athlete of the Century. For the Brazilians visiting the museum, there was no question how they much they revered their National Treasure.