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image: Pele

Pelé

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Inducted: 1998
Induction Class: Pelé (Soccer),
Jackie Joyner-Kersee (Track & Field), David Robinson (Basketball)
Sport: Soccer, Olympic Games
Years Active: 1956-1977
Born: Oct. 23, 1940
Birthplace: Tres Coracoes, Brazil
Community Focus: Environment, Sports & Recreation
Foundation: UNICEF

Pele, one of the most decorated soccer players of all time followed his prowess on the pitch as an environmental advocate and worked endlessly as an ambassador for sport.  Pele was inducted into the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame as a part of the Class of 1998, which included track and field great Jackie Joyner-Kersee, and basketball star David Robinson.

Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pele, competed on the Brazilian team in four World Cups, leading them to victory in three. He was honored by FIFA as the Football Ambassador to the World and as the best soccer player of the 20th century. The International Olympic Committee recognized him as its Athlete of the Century. He is third on the list of top goal scorers in international play. Pele spent 17 seasons playing midfield for the Brazilian Santos FC club before retiring briefly. He came out of retirement after two years and joined the North American Soccer League’s New York Cosmos, a move which helped bring interest and credibility to American soccer In his third and final year with the Cosmos, Pele led the team to a NASL Championship. He ended his soccer career with an exhibition match between his two teams, playing one half for each.

Following his retirement, Pele became an ambassador for various causes. He became a United Nations ambassador for ecology and the environment, a Brazilian “Extraordinary Minister for Sport,” and a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. He proposed legislation—which came to be known as the “Pele Law”—geared towards reducing corruption in Brazilian soccer.