On This Day: Pelé’s Debut and the Promise He Made to His Father

Before Pelé became football’s “Black Pearl,” he was a child from a poor family who dreamed of becoming a pilot. Football changed that dream after he saw his father crying over Brazil’s defeat to Uruguay in the 1950 World Cup final.

Edson Arantes do Nascimento grew up surrounded by the sport. His father, Dondinho, was a footballer and passed on his passion for the game. When Dondinho moved from Três Corações in Minas Gerais to Bauru, six-year-old Pelé moved with the family.

Life was difficult. Pelé’s mother did not work, while his father earned little from football and took jobs as a cleaner and builder. The family of eight lived in a small home, but the article describes the love between them as immense.

Pelé preferred parks, friends and the ball to lessons and school. Playing football made him feel carefree. For a time, however, he wanted to conquer the skies as a pilot.

That changed on July 16, 1950. Brazil faced Uruguay in the World Cup final at Rio de Janeiro’s Maracanã, and the family listened to the match on the radio with friends. Dondinho had even arranged a party for afterward, but Uruguay won 2-1. Seeing his father heartbroken, the boy, not yet 10, made a promise that redirected his life toward football. Six years later, on September 7, 1956, Pelé made his debut for Santos.