Pelé
(Born 1940)
Baby Edson Arantes do Nascimento was born on October 23, 1940, in the city of Três Corações, 200 miles northwest of Rio de Janeiro. Nicknamed "Pelé" by his school classmates after he mispronounced the name of one of his local soccer players, he grew up on the poverty-stricken streets of Rio's outer suburbs where life was what you made of it. Without money to buy a soccer ball he had to create one himself which he did, from a sock stuffed with newspapers. Pelé’s father taught him how to play soccer, and he saved for his first ball by working in local tea shops. As a young athlete, Pelé played soccer at indoor stadiums, which increased his speed and developed his lightning-quick responses. Rising through the ranks in the youth leagues, he quickly became a future star. When Pelé became the highest scorer in Brazil's soccer league aged 16, the Brazilian President declared him a national treasure. This was just the beginning of his "beautiful game", which he became known for expressing joy and happiness as he scored goal after goal on the soccer field. He went on to score over 1,000 goals in his professional soccer career, leading Brazil's national team to many World Cup wins. And his enthusiasm did not stop when he retired in 1977. Appointed a United Nations ambassador for ecology and the environment, he also became a UNESCO goodwill ambassador, dedicating his time to working with children who had grown up in the poverty he experienced as a boy. Today he remains one of the world's most iconic soccer players, who brought joy, dance, and passion to the game.
