June 17, 1962: Brazil's World Cup Repeat

Manuel Francisco dos Santos, a.k.a. Garrincha

June 17, 1962: The World Cup Final is held at the Estadio Nacional in Santiago, Chile. Brazil take on Czechoslovakia. This was also the 1st Final in which both teams came from the same group in the Group Stage.

The Czechs had reached the Final in 1934, and had a better team this time, led by Captain and defender Ladislav Novák, and midfielder Josef Masopust, a midfielder. Both men played for Dukla Prague, which dominated Czech soccer in the 1950s and '60s.

But Brazil would go into the Final with 10 of the 11 players who had started for them in the 1958 Final: Gilmar in goal, Djalma Santos at right back, Nílton Santos at left back, Mauro Ramos (also Captain) and Zózimo at centerback, Zito at right halfback, Didi at left halfback, Garrincha at right wing, Mário Zagallo at left wing, and forward Vavá.

The only change was at the other forward, with Amarildo coming in for Pelé. All games in Group 3 were played at Estadio Sausalito in Viña del Mar. In Brazil's opening game, Pelé scored to help them beat Mexico, 2-0. The next day, Czechoslovakia beat Spain, 1-0. Two days after that, Brazil and Czechoslovakia played each other, and Pelé tore a thigh muscle, and had to leave the game. With substitutes not allowed at the time, Brazil played about 2/3rds of the game with 10 men, and it ended in a 0-0 draw. Brazil beat Spain, 2-1; while Czechoslovakia lost to Mexico, 3-1, giving Brazil the Group.

In the quarterfinals, Brazil beat England, 3-1 in Viña del Mar, thanks to 2 goals from Garrincha; while the Czechs beat Hungary, 1-0 in Rancagua. In the Semifinals, Brazil again got 2 goals from Garrincha, and beat Chile, 4-2 at Santiago; while Czechoslovakia beat Yugloslavia, 3-1 in Viña del Mar. So the final was set for Santiago.

Brazil wore their traditional yellow shirts with blue shorts. The Czechs wore white shirts with red shorts. Masopust scored in the 15th. Amarildo, subbing for Pelé, equalized 2 minutes later. It stayed 1-1 until the 69th minute, when Zito put Brazil ahead. In the 78th, Vavá became the 1st player to score in back-to-back World Cup Finals, and it ended 3-1 to Brazil. After Italy in 1934 and '38, they became the 2nd country to win back-to-back World Cups.

Czechoslovakia won Euro 76, but 1962 remains the last time they, or either of their now-separate nations of Czechia (the Czech Republic) or Slovakia have reached the knockout stage of the World Cup. Czechia have not qualified at all since 2006; Slovakia, only in 2010.

Built in 1937, Estadio Nacional has been used by several teams in the Santiago area, most notably Universidad de Chile. Sadly, it was used as a prison by the Fascist government of Augusto Pinochet. It had a significant renovation in 2010, and is still used for soccer today.

UPDATE: An article for ESPN.com, published after the 2026 World Cup, ranking all 23 tournaments, rated this one 18th, citing the violence while admiring the star power.

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June 17, 1962 was a Sunday. These baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees were swept in a doubleheader by the Cleveland Indians, 6-1 and 6-3 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Mickey Mantle was injured, and did not play. Dick Donovan outpitched Bill Stafford in the opener, and Pedro Ramos beat Jim Coates in the nightcap. Over the 2 games, Yogi Berra went 2-for-7 with a home run and 2 RBIs, and Roger Maris went 2-for-7 with a walk.

* The New York Mets were swept in a doubleheader by the Chicago Cubs, 8-7 and 4-3 at the Polo Grounds. The 1st game was "The Marv Throneberry Game," and I have a separate entry for that event: Throneberry made an error in the field, then hit a triple, and was called out for not touching 2nd base. He didn't touch 1st base, either.

Also in that 1st game, Lou Brock, not yet known as a base stealer, and never really known for his power, hit a home run in the 1st inning, into the center field bleachers at the Polo Grounds. Only 2 players had ever done that before: Joe Adcock, and, in a Negro League game, Luke Easter. Hank Aaron of the Milwaukee Braves did it the very next day.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-2 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. Frank Robinson went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Washington Senators, 4-3 at District of Columbia Stadium (later Robert F. Kennedy Stadium) in Washington. Brooks Robinson went 1-for-5.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Milwaukee Braves, 7-3 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Hank Aaron went 2-for-4. So did Roberto Clemente, and he also had an RBI. Harvey Haddix outpitched Warren Spahn.

* A doubleheader was split at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. The Detroit Tigers won the 1st game, 8-5. Purnal Goldy hit 2 home runs for the Tigers. He was playing right field, and Al Kaline didn't play in either game. The Boston Red Sox won the 2nd game, 5-0. Ike Delock pitched a 7-hit shutout. Frank Malzone hit a home run for the Red Sox in each game. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-5 with 3 walks.

* The Los Angeles Angels swept a doubleheader from the Chicago White Sox, 5-3 and 6-5 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* The Kansas City Athletics beat the Minnesota Twins, 10-6 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. Harmon Killebrew and Lenny Green hit home runs for the Twins, while Norm Siebern hit 2 and Ed Charles hit 1 for the A's.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Houston Colt .45s (who became the Astros in 1965), 6-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-3 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Stan Musial went 0-for-3. Willie Mays went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs.