Today in History: Pelé scores his 1 000th career goal
Over the course of his 21-year senior career, Pele scored 1 282 goals in 1 363 games.
On this day in 1969, Brazilian soccer great, Pelé, scored his 1 000th professional goal in a game against Vasco da Gama in Rio de Janeiro’s Maracaña Stadium.
Pelé, considered one of the greatest soccer players ever to take to the field, was born Edson Arantes do Nascimento in Tres Coracos, Brazil, in 1940. He acquired the nickname Pelé during his childhood though the name has no meaning in his native Portuguese.
When he was a teenager, he played for a minor league soccer club in Bauru in Sao Paulo state and in 1956, he joined the major league Santos Football Club in the city of Sao Paulo. Two years later, he led the Brazilian national team to victory in the World Cup. Pelé, who was only 17 years old at the time, scored two goals to defeat Sweden in the final.
Pelé was blessed with speed, balance, control, power, and an uncanny ability to anticipate the movements of his opponents and teammates. Although just 1,73m tall, he was a giant on the field, leading Santos to three national club championships, two South American championships, and the world club title in 1963. Under Pelé’s leadership, Brazil won the World Cup in 1958, 1962, and 1970. In 1970, Brazil was granted permanent possession of the World Cup’s Jules Rimet Trophy as a tribute to its dominance.
On 19 November 1969, Pelé scored his 1 000th goal with a penalty kick against Vasco da Gama. Eighty thousand adoring fans in the Maracaña Stadium cheered him wildly, even though Santos was their opposition.
Pelé announced his retirement in 1974 but in 1975 accepted a $7 million contract to play with the New York Cosmos. He led the Cosmos to a league championship in 1977 and did much to promote soccer in the United States. On 1 October 1977, at the Giants Stadium, he played his last professional game in a Cosmos match against his old team, Santos.
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