Pelé grew up in poverty, polishing shoes to earn money for a football, before joining Santos FC at 15 and the Brazilian national team at 16. He won three World Cups (1958, 1962, 1970), scored over 1,000 career goals, and became arguably the most famous athlete of the 20th century, later serving as a global ambassador for the sport and for Brazil.
Named after Thomas Edison, Pelé's parents hoped their son would grow up to invent something. Instead he reinvented a sport. Raised in the small city of Três Corações, he learned to play with a sock stuffed with rags because his family could not afford a real ball, and he shined shoes at the local train station for extra coins.
By 17, playing for Brazil at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, he scored twice in the final and wept on the shoulder of a teammate, footage that became one of football's iconic images. He would go on to win two more World Cups, cementing a claim to be the greatest player in the sport's history, a debate that persists decades after his final match.
Pelé's fame transcended sport entirely. During the Nigerian Civil War in 1969, both sides reportedly agreed to a 48-hour ceasefire so soldiers could watch him play an exhibition match in Lagos — a story repeated so often it became football legend, whether or not every detail holds up to scrutiny.
Key people: Pelé