Pele Retires From Soccer

On Oct. 1, 1977, Brazilian soccer great Pele retires with 1,281 goals in 1,363 games.

Those goals came in games with Bauru, an athletic junior club, Santos, the New York Cosmos and with the Brazilian National Team.

According to the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) he is the most successful league goal scorer in the world, with 541 league goals.

Many experts regard Pele, football critics, former players, current players and football fans in general as the best player of all time. During his career, he took on several nicknames including: "The Black Pearl," “The King of Football,” “The King Pele,” and “The King.”

He is the all-time leading scorer of the Brazil national football team with 77 goals in 92 appearances, and is the only footballer to be a part of three World Cup-winning squads.

In 1962, his second World Cup victory, he was on the Brazilian squad at the start of the World Cup but because of an injury suffered in the second match, he was not able to play the remainder of the tournament.

In November 2007, FIFA announced that he would be awarded the 1962 medal retroactively, making him the only player in the world to have three World Cup winning medals.

Pele also played in the South American Championship. In the 1959 competition he was named best player of the tournament and was top scorer with 8 goals, as Brazil came second despite being unbeaten in the tournament.

Since his retirement in 1977, Pele has been a worldwide ambassador for football and has undertaken various acting roles and commercial ventures. In August 2010, he was named the Honorary President of the New York Cosmos.

In 1999, he was voted Football Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS).

In the same year French weekly magazine France Football consulted their former Ballon D'Or winners to elect the Football Player of the Century. Pele came in first place.

Pele was elected "Athlete of the Century" by the International Olympic Committee and Reuters News Agency in 1999, and by French newspaper L'Équipe in 1981.

In February 2012, Legends 10 began handling the Pele brand and brought all marketing and management efforts under one roof, including all intellectual property rights, global licensing, branding, endorsements, and public appearances.