Pele, Me, and the World of Soccer-fútbol

Footballers Bob Smith, left, Pele, and standout goalie Bob Rigby. Both young men from the Greater Philadelphia area played for the Philadelphia Atoms and later with Pele on the New York Cosmos.

By Bill Wilson

“Soccer-football is a disease,” said Edson Arantes do Nascimento.

We all know that fellow as Pelé, one of the greatest footballers and athletes of all time, who died on December 29 at the age of 82.

Pelé uttered that trope to me in 1976 in the backseat of a limo that was headed from Philadelphia International Airport to the fabled Franklin Field, where the Brazilian superstar would play in the North American Soccer League (NASL) Bicentennial Cup.

In the limo with me was Bob Rigby, the Philadelphia Atoms standout goalie from Ridley, in the Philadelphia suburbs. Rigby would become the first soccer goalie to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated and later play goalie with the New York Cosmos, where Pelé also played NASL soccer.

Later, Rigby, who played college soccer at Stroudsburg, gushed to me, “Imagine that. Me and Pelé in the limo!”

Rigby taught and coached at Ridley, and he was fast friends with fellow Atom’s player, the scrappy defender Bobby Smith of Trenton, NJ, who also played with Rigby at the Cosmos.

I first learned of Pelé when I was in high school. I played soccer (a wing position) in Folcroft, PA. My dad was a noted sports cinematographer who crisscrossed the country filming sports, and I often helped him as a «grip,” carrying tripods and camera cases up to photo booths in stadiums all over the East Coast.

One such trip was to New York to film Pelé’s Brazilian team (Santos) play. It was my first pro soccer game, and I learned the story of how Pelé played soccer in the poor section of his town with an improvised football made of a sock stuffed with rags.

Years later (in 1973), I would be a press box attendant for the expansion club the Philadelphia Atoms, and also worked as a spotter for the official scorer.

My late wife was a publicity assistant and executive assistant to the late Bob Ehlinger, the GM of the Championship Atoms and later NASL Commissioner.

Bob Ehlinger was more than a personal friend; he was a true force in the world of professional sports. In his lifetime, Ehlinger was a collegiate football referee, was also GM of the Philadelphia Fury NASL team, and was involved with Billie Jean King’s pro tennis team, The Philadelphia Freedoms.

Through his association, I landed a freelance position (I was already working as a daily newspaper editor) with the weekly magazine Soccer America; was part of the official stats team at a U.S. Olympic soccer match in Delaware—Mexico vs USA; and chaperone of various teams international matches as well as NASL game staff.

Those jobs ranged from getting the starting lineups from the coaches of both teams and then giving a copy to the referee, announcer, and the stat team; being a spotter for the official scorer even for indoor soccer games.

Sometimes in international matches, unusual things cropped up.

• Riding in the Israeli National team bus—a security guy carrying a big briefcase asked me in an emergency if could I guide the bus to Philadelphia International Airport.
• The British National Team wanted names of good “locals” (pubs in town).
• One team from Central America had the coach hand out jerseys to different players despite the jersey numbers that were printed on the program.
• Then maddening searches for national flags and recordings of national anthems. Some anthems were quite long.

Over the years I attended matches in England, Greece, Haiti, French West Indies, and Canada and was always amazed at the fans and the stadiums. I wrote a few columns and stories for Soccer America including two interviews with Pelé. One was a conference call with his manager and a story about Pele merchandise. Being in the locker room with Pelé was interesting seeing the 5’9” nine athlete in his uniform surrounded by reporters.

The King of Football had so many records, just a few of which include three World Cups, his first in 1958, and during his career he scored 1,279 goals. He was one of the most well-known people in the world.

“Pelé did things that no other player would even dream of,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said. France’s Kylian Mbappé in Qatar lamented, “The king of football has left us.” And, “He was the greatest because he could do anything and everything on a football pitch,” noted Bobby Moore, the England captain who lost to him in the 1970 World Cup.

Even days after his death in São Paulo, Brazil (December 29) at the Premier League (UK) match between Manchester City and Everton there was a moment of silence. For Pelé players wore black armbands.

Through all those personal associations over the years, I had a front-row seat to the exciting world of international football, and Pelé was always on my mind.

Bill Wilson grew up in Delaware County, PA, and lived in Folcroft and Wallingford. He wrote and edited daily newspapers for over 40 years. He has lived in San Miguel de Allende in the mountains of Central Mexico for 15 years.