Sports
PELÉ, HIS NORTH AMERICAN YEARS
Conceived by Hall of Fame photographer George Tiedemann, Pelé, His North American Years: A Tribute is the first photographic book exclusively about Pelé’s years with the New York Cosmos.
Centered around three key games, his debut in 1975, the Soccer Bowl in 1977 and his Farewell the same year, the coffee-table sized book showcases those games in brilliant color photos.
Additional photos of other games, including Pelé’s appearance with Team USA in the Bicentennial Cup, as well as images of memorabilia are interspersed throughout the book, creating a compelling graphic story.
The book’s narrative is a series of essays on the three highlighted games written by award-winning soccer journalist Charles Cuttone, who was on the Cosmos staff the entirety of Pelé’s time with the team.
A timeline of important games and events weaves together the three years of Pelé’s Cosmos career, along with quotes of tribute from team mates and other soccer personalities.
An appendix includes a game-by-game chart of Pelé’s career with the Cosmos, as well as other statistical information.
Chapter 1-The Arrival
There have been big wins and larger audiences, but this was the single most important soccer game in American history. Though it would take decades to be fully realized, the future of soccer in
America had arrived, delivered by the 5’-8” Brazilian.
Chapter 2-Growing The Game
Between the time Pelé signed with the Cosmos and his retirement, the NASL attendance record was broken five times, going from 24,093 for an Atoms game in Philadelphia the year before his arrival to 77,691 for the epic 1977 playoff game against the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. That crowd figure remained a record for a game involving two domestic teams until it was broken on July 4, 2023 in the Rose Bowl by an MLS game between Los Angeles Football Club and the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Chapter 3-Out On Top
When trying to lure Pelé out of retirement, Cosmos General Manager Clive Toye said to him “if you go to another country, you can only win a cup or league, if you come to America, you can win a country.”
Clearly, Pelé had done both.
Chapter 4-Tearful Farewell
Pelé was right. Everything else passes, but LOVE, LOVE, LOVE.
Tributes from the Soccer World
“My main goal is to have the children – both boys and girls – of this large and great country experience the fun this game gives me and the children in nearly 200 countries around the world. From the time they’re tots until they’re watching their grandchildren play, I want them to share the anticipation, excitement, thrills, joy, color, camaraderie, satisfaction, sportsmanship and pride which playing and following soccer bring.”
Pelé
From Chapter One, The Arrival.
“I am honored to have been a part of Pelé’s time with the New York Cosmos and grateful to George and Charles for capturing these moments in such a beautiful and poignant way.”
Werner Roth
Soccer Hall of Fame Class of 1989
“Pelé made soccer here cool. He laid the foundation for the World Cup being awarded here in 1994 and the gradual explosion of Major League Soccer over the last 3 decades.”
Shep Messing
MLS Broadcaster, Pelé Teammate
“In my opinion, his legacy is he always respected and loved the game. He gave and gave and gave and gave so the masses could feel the game’s greatness and power.”
Brandi Chastain
Soccer Hall of Fame Class of 2017
