Pele scored over 1,000 goals for club and country during a glittering soccer career that saw him rise from a poverty-stricken childhood in Brazil to become the most famous athlete on the planet.
Dick Howard had the perfect view for one of those goals by Pele, full name Edson Arantes do Nascimento, who died on Thursday at the age of 82.
A former Canadian national team goalkeeper, Howard was in net when Pele stared him down before a penalty kick.
For decades, Santos, with Pele as its star attraction, realized they had a license to print money, so they embarked on barnstorming tours during their off-season, playing local clubs in a series of high-profile friendlies in every corner of the globe. One such tour brought Santos to Canada’s largest city one summer night for a match against former NASL club Toronto Metros.
“I remember it well: July 6, 1972, in Toronto. Santos were doing these exhibition tours around the world, and they were in North America for some games. The atmosphere was just fabulous. Varsity Stadium in the summer, packed out for a game of football, there was no better setting,” Howard recalled.
The Metros took a surprising 2-0 lead against Santos, and a major upset appeared to be in the works. But then the referee sent off one of Howard’s teammates. Reduced to 10 men, the home side saw control of the game ripped from their grasp by Santos, who bagged two quick goals to tie things up.
Things went from bad to worse for Metros early in the second half when Santos was awarded a penalty kick. There was only going to be one player who would take it for Santos. But just as Pele put the ball down on the 12-yard spot, Howard walked up to him and, in a gesture that’s rarely — if ever — extended between two opposing players prior to a penalty kick, wished the Brazilian good luck.
“That’s the moment I remember the best because Pele stepped up to take the kick. Looking back on it now, I still don’t know what made me do it, but I walked out to the penalty spot, extended my hand out to him for a handshake, and I wished him good luck on the kick. Now, the expression on his face — here’s this world-class player, who has scored over 1,000 goals in football — and he has a goalkeeper wishing him good luck,” Howard said. “He must have thought I was one of those crazy Canadians.”
The unusual encounter didn’t throw off Pele, as he took the penalty with aplomb, striking a hard shot past Howard to give Santos a 3-2 lead.
“I found out later he didn’t like taking penalty picks, but he scored on this one. He slotted it away and low to my right, just inside the post. A brilliant penalty kick. I had no chance [to save it]whatsoever. I hardly moved,” Howard explained.
That wasn’t the end of the unusual exchange between the two, though, as Pele duly returned Howard’s gesture in kind.
“I went to pick the ball out of the back of the net, and Pele came up to me and shook my hand, and said, ‘Better luck next time, goalkeeper.’ I still remember it to this day,” Howard said.
Santos went on to win the game 4–2, much to the delight of the 18,529 spectators who jammed into Varsity Stadium to catch a glimpse of Pele. Howard recalled how Metros coach Graham Leggat instructed his players prior to the game to treat Pele with kid gloves.
“This was an exhibition game, and Graham said the fans had come to see Pele, so let’s keep it fair and not get too physical. It summed it up because it was a great evening and we gave them a good game,” Howard offered.
Pele was 32 at the time, two years removed from leading Brazil to its third World Cup title in Mexico, and firmly on the downside of his pro career. Still, the Brazilian had more than enough gas left in the tank, and dazzled the Toronto fans by bamboozling the Metros players with his deft skills on the ball.
“Our defenders did a fine job, especially when we were down to 10 men. But our backs were against the wall and it was tough because he was just so fast and agile. You had to really concentrate because he was so quick in getting shots off and finding teammates with passes. Somebody told me afterwards he took eight or 10 shots, but each one was different. Such a delight to watch and a real challenge to face. He wasn’t a big man, but just a tremendous athlete,” Howard stated.
There would be other encounters between Pele and Howard, including the day after the game.
“Santos were staying at the Royal York [Hotel]. I knew he had a young daughter, so the next day I brought him a toy to give to her,” Howard said.
Their paths would cross several more times over the ensuing decades, as Howard and Pele both participated in FIFA meetings held around the world. Howard also interviewed Pele on a number of occasions for Canadian television.
“I was at [London’s] Wembley Stadium, and Pele was walking up towards the stands. He was far away from me, and I shouted at him. He looked back, recognized me, and then walked back down the stairs and gave me a hug. We had a laugh about that penalty kick,” Howard said.
“Another time, we both happened to be in Scotland at a Dundee United game. At halftime, I went down to get a cup of tea outside the players’ locker room, and there’s Pele, chatting with the tea ladies. Instead of watching the game, he had spent the first half talking to the tea ladies. That summed him up — he was very humble, and had none of the ego you see with other athletes.”
In the end, that’s what made Pele so special, according to Howard. It wasn’t his skills, although he had many of them. It wasn’t his success, even though he remains the only player to win three World Cups. And it wasn’t his fame, although he was the most recognized athlete in the world during the height of his career.
It was his humility.
“He was very humble. I kidded him once that if he had a dollar for every hand he ever shook or every autograph he signed, he’d be the wealthiest man in the world because he never refused anybody…. He’s synonymous with the world game. He’s the greatest ambassador for the world’s game because everybody knows Pele. You can talk about Muhammad Ali and others, but there’s only one Pele. I was honoured to be on the same field playing against him, and it remains to this day the highlight of my career,” Howard offered.
“He transcended soccer and sports. How did he compare to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo? For me, he’s the greatest of them all for everything he’s done for the game.”
