This lot is closed. Bidding ended on 12/10/2004.
Pele was born Edson Arantes Do Nascimento into a very poor family in Tres Coracos, Brazil, and learned soccer from his father who was a professional player. Pele was a talent since he could kick a ball. At the age of 11 he was discovered by one of the country's best players Waldemar de Brito. Brito brought the young Pele to the directors of Santos' professional team and told them "This boy will be the greatest soccer player in the world." To the director's disbelief, Brito's prediction was 100% correct. Pele is known as the best soccer player in the game's history. In Pele's first game, he was 16 years old and was ready to take on the soccer world scoring his first professional goal. The rest was history. Pele is a human record book filled with countless, and possibly unbreakable records. In 1,360 career games he scored 1,280 goals. He has the record for career hat tricks with 92, and the record for goals scored in international competition with 97. The statistics are never ending. One goal that he did not break was set by his own father who once scored five goals in one game all of them with his head. On the right breast, and on the back of the jersey is the player number "10." On the left breast is "COSMOS." Above the player number on the back is "PELE." All lettering and numbering is screened on in yellow.