December 29, 2022: The Death of Pelé

He never won this trophy. He won the previous version 3 times.

December 29, 2022: Pelé dies in São Paulo, Brazil. He was 82 years old.

Edson Arantes do Nascimento was born on October 23, 1940 in Três Corações (Three Hearts), Minas Gerais, Brazil. His father, João Ramos do Nascimento, was a forward known as Dondinho. He was much-heralded, but a knee injury curtailed his career.

Like millions of Brazilians, he broke down in tears upon hearing his homeland's defeat, on home soil, to Uruguay in the 1950 World Cup Final. The defeat, at the new Stadio Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro, became known as Maracanaço, "The Agony of Maracanã."

Edson, then 9 years old, told his father that, one day, he would win the World Cup for him. Dondinho would live to see Brazil win it 4 times, the 1st 3 with his son.

Edson, named for inventor Thomas Edison, whom Dondinho admired, grew up in Bauru, in the Brazilian State of São Paulo. Like his father, and most other Brazilian "futebol" players, he became known by a single name. Often it's the player's first name, but it would not be "Edson" by which he would be known. Nor would it be "Dico," which his family had called him.

As a boy, his favorite player was a goalkeeper for Rio de Janeiro team Vasco da Gama, known as Bilé. But in his accent, "Bee-LAY" became "Peh-LAY." The more he was called "Pelé," the more he complained, but the more it stuck. While the Hebrew word for "miracle" is pronounced "Peh-LAY," the word "Pelé" has no known meaning in Brazil's main language, Portuguese.

As a teenager, Pelé was among the earliest group of Brazilians to play indoor soccer, which he said forced him to think and act more quickly, making him better at the traditional outdoor version. In 1956, only 15 years old, he was signed to Santos Futebol Clube of Santos, an industrial and port city near the city of São Paulo.

He remained with Santos for 18 years, as the club refused all offers from the giants of South American, and eventually European, football. He helped them win the Campeonato Paulista, the State Championship, 10 times. He helped them win the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the National Championship, 6 times, including 5 in a row from 1961 to 1965.

Pelé in uniform for Santos

He helped them win back-to-back titles in the Copa Libertadores, the South American continental club championship. Each time, they beat the winners of the European Cup to win the Intercontinental Cup (now called the FIFA Club World Cup): Benfica of Lisbon, Portugal, featuring Eusébio, in 1962; and AC Milan of Italy, featuring Gianni Rivera, in 1963. (Like Pelé, Eusébio, a native of the African nation of Mozambique, then a colony of Portugal, is the greatest player his continent has ever produced. Also like Pelé, he was nicknamed "The Black Pearl.")

After the 1962 Intercontinental Cup, in which Pelé scored 3 goals, Benfica goalkeeper Costa Pereira said, "I arrived hoping to stop a great man, but I went away convinced I had been undone by someone who was not born on the same planet as the rest of us."

Not yet 18 years old, the Brazilian national team, O Seleção (The Selection), called him up for the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. The Seleção was a mix of black and white players, and the very white Scandinavian people of Sweden were very intrigued by them. Pelé, away from his homeland for the 1st time, and his teammates essentially had their choice of whatever women were willing to throw themselves at them. Did I mention that he was not yet 18?

In the Group Stage, Brazil beat Austria 3-0 at Uddevalla, drew 0-0 with England at Gothenberg, and beat the Soviet Union 2-0 at Gothenburg. In the 66th minute of the Quarterfinal against Wales, also in Gothenburg, Pelé scored his 1st World Cup goal, and Brazil won, 1-0. (That's as far as Wales got: Northern Ireland also made it to the Knockout stage, but England didn't.) In the Semifinal at Solna, Pelé exploded onto the world stage with a hat trick, as Brazil beat a strong France team led by Raymond Kopa and Just Fontaine, 5-2.

The Final was held on June 29, 1958, at the Råsunda Fotbollsstadion in Solna, outside Stockholm. Brazil played the host nation -- which must have given some of their fans flashbacks to 1950, knowing that the home team could be beaten in the Final. Sweden had Gunnar Gren and Nils Liedholm, although Gunnar Nordahl, the other member of "Gre-No-Li," the Swedish trio who starred for AC Milan in the 1950s, never played in a World Cup.

But Brazil, managed by Vicente Feola, had Gilmar in goal; a defense of Djalma Santos, Orlando, Hideraldo Bellini and Nílton Santos (no relation to Djalma); halfbacks Zito and Didi, whom Pelé credited as his mentor; and a forward line of Garrincha (possibly the best player in the world at the time), Vavá, Pelé and Mário Zagallo.

Although Liedholm scored in the 4th minute, it was no contest: Vavá tallied in the 9th and the 32nd, Pelé in the 55th, and Zagallo in the 68th. Agne Simonsson got a consolation goal in the 80th, but Pelé put an exclamation point on the board in the 90th. Brazil won, 5-2.

With the Jules Rimet Trophy

It had been 8 years, minus 17 days, since Maracanaço. Pelé had kept his promise to his father, and the nation that, perhaps even more than England, loves soccer more than any other, was World Champions for the 1st time.

*

This win made Pelé world-famous and a hot commodity. Internazionale of Milan signed him to a contract, but, following a revolt by Santos' fans, the team's chairman tore up the contract. Another Italian team, Juventus of Turin, tried to sign him. So did Real Madrid of Spain. So did Manchester United of England, eager to rebuild their squad following the Munich Air Disaster of 1958.

Pelé was just getting warmed up. In an era where there was no merchandising and no TV money, playing games and taking in their share of the gate receipts as the only way for soccer teams to make money, so Santos were constantly touring and playing big-name teams. In 1959, they toured Europe, beating Inter 7-1 at the San Siro in Milan, and beating Barcelona 5-1 at the Camp Nou. In calendar year 1959 alone, he scored 126 goals.

Charlie George, who starred for North London team Arsenal in the early 1970s, said, "I was a scorer of great goals, not a great goalscorer." Pelé became renowned as both. Most of his goals were not preserved on film, including the one he said was his favorite, in a 1959 Campeonato Paulista match against Atlético Juventus of São Paulo. He asked a computer expert to simulate it, based on his description. This was the result, and if it happened just like that, I can see why he chose it.

In 1961, against Rio team Fluminense at the Maracanã, he took the ball on the edge of his own penalty area, and dribbled it all the way down the pitch past several defenders, before scoring. A plaque outside the stadium calls it "the most beautiful goal in the history of the Maracanã." It is known as the Gol de Placa: The goal worthy of a plaque. That same year, President Jânio Quadros of Brazil had him declared an "official national treasure," to prevent his being transferred out of the country. He was not yet 21 years old.

The 1962 World Cup was played in Chile. Brazil attempted to match Italy in 1934 and '38 as back-to-back winners. They played their Group Stage games in Viña del Mar. Zagallo and Pelé scored to give them a 2-0 win over Mexico. They only got a 0-0 draw against Czechoslovakia, led by Josef Masopust, Pelé was injured in the game, and would not play in the tournament again. But 2 goals by his replacement up top, Amarildo, got them a 2-0 win over Spain.

Still in Viña del Mar, 2 goals by Garrincha and 1 by Vavá gave them a 3-1 win over England. In the Semifinal, as they had in the 1958 Final, they had to play the host nation in their national stadium, in the capital of Santiago. Garrincha and Vavá each scored twice, and Brazil won 4-2. The Final was a rematch with Czechoslovakia. Masopust scored in the 15th, but Amarildo scored in the 17th, Zito in the 69th, and Vavá in the 78th. Brazil won 3-1, and were World Champions again. 

They hoped to make it 3 straight in England in 1966. They played their Group Stage games at Goodison Park, the home of Everton, the blue club of Liverpool. It didn't go so well. Pelé and Garrincha scored to give Brazil a 2-0 win over Bulgaria. But the Bulgarians decided to hack him to pieces. Hungary decided on the same tactic, and beat Brazil 3-1. Portugal also fouled Pelé relentlessly, with no sanction from the referees. With Eusébio scoring twice, Portugal beat their former colony 3-1.

Brazil were out. This remains the only time since the 1st World Cup of 1930 that they did not qualify for the Knockout Stage. To be fair, they were in something of a transition: Their 1958 and 1962 championship players were aging, and their 1970 players were still on their way in.

With both Santos and the Brazil team, Pelé continued to play all around the world. This included one of Brazil's warmup matches for the 1966 World Cup, a 2-0 loss to Arsenal at Highbury on November 16, 1965; and 4 games at the old Yankee Stadium for Santos: A 4-1 win over Internazionale Milano on June 5, 1966, during their "Grande Inter" era; a 4-2 win over Italian team Napoli on June 21, 1968; a 5-3 loss to the North American Soccer League's New York Generals on July 12, 1968; and a 3-3 draw with

Eusébio's Benfica on September 1, 1968.

The Nigerian Civil War of 1967-70 was very nasty. But the factions agreed to a 48-hour ceasefire, as Pelé led Santos into the capital of Lagos to play the national team on January 26, 1969. He scored both Santos goals in a 2-2 draw.

On November 19, 1969, still only 29 years old, he led Santos into the Maracanã to play Vasco da Gama. In all competitions to that point, he had been credited with 999 goals. Since this game featured one of the big clubs in the biggest city, against the man known as O Rei (The King), it was nationally televised.

He thought he had his 1,000th goal when he was brought down in the penalty area. "It had to be a penalty," he said later. "It had to come when the whole world could stop, and not miss it." He got it, and a crowd of 125,000 in the gigantic stadium erupted in cheers, enough of them rushing the pitch that the game could not continue. (With renovations, including being made all-seater, it now has a capacity of 78,838.)

Still, he and Brazil had a lot to prove in the 1970 World Cup, to be played in Mexico. This would be the 1st World Cup televised around the world in color, and the Seleção's yellow shirts really stood out. Their Group Stage games were played at Estadio Jalisco in Guadalajara, home of Chivas. The opener was a rematch of the 1962 Final against the Czechs, and Pelé had a goal in the 4-1 demolition. 

Next came England. A corner came Pelé's way, and as he headed the ball toward the net, he yelled, "Goal!" But it wasn't: England goalkeeper Gordon Banks knocked it away, for what became known as the Save of the Century. Still, Brazil would not be denied, and Jairzinho gave Brazil a 1-0 win.

The postgame photo of Pelé and England Captain Bobby Moore embracing, exchanging shirts -- the already-legendary yellow Number 10 and the white Number 6 --  became iconic: Each country's best player ever, one white, one black, coming together in a moment of sportsmanship.

The Group Stage concluded with Pelé scoring 2 goals in a 3-2 win over Romania. The Quarterfinal was also played in Guadalajara, and while Pelé didn't score, it was still a demonstration of what he called O Jogo Bonito: "The Beautiful Game": A 4-2 defeat of Peru. The Semifinal, too, was in Guadalajara, against another South American side. Pelé didn't score in that one, either, but it didn't matter, as his teammates came through, beating Uruguay 3-1.

The Final was held at the Estadio Azteca on June 21. The opponents were Italy, also with something to prove, after an ignominious exit in 1966. Brazil didn't give them a chance. In the 18th minute, Pelé found a Rivelino cross and headed it in. While the Azzurri (Blues) did tie it up, the 2nd half was all Brazil: Gérson, Jairzinho and Captain Carlos Alberto all tallied, the last 2 on assists by Pelé, and perhaps the greatest soccer team ever assembled completed their masterpiece, 4-1.

Celebrating his 1970 Final goal with Jairzinho (Number 7).

They became the 1st team to win the Jules Rimet Trophy 3 times, and got to keep it. A new trophy was commissioned for the 1974 World Cup, as shown in the photo at the top of the page. Also noteworthy: Mário Zagallo became the 1st man to win the World Cup as both a player and as a manager. He has since been joined by Franz Beckenbauer of Germany and Didier Deschamps of France.

Pelé played his last international match on July 18, 1971, in a friendly with Yugoslavia at the Maracanã, before 138,575 fans. He didn't score, and it ended in a 2-2 draw. With him, Brazil won 67 games, drew 14, and lost 11 -- with both him and his predecessor as their greatest player, Garrincha, in the lineup, they lost exactly none. After closing the 1973-74 season with Santos, he retired. The only man with 1,000 goals, and the only man with 3 World Cups, he seemed to have nothing left to prove.

*

The New York Cosmos did have something to prove. In 1971, they replaced the bankrupt New York Generals in the North American Soccer League. They wore green, yellow and white to capitalize on Brazil having those colors. It didn't work: They averaged just 4,517 fans per home game in the old Yankee Stadium. For the 1972 season, they moved to James M. Shuart Stadium, a 15,000-seat stadium on the campus of Hofstra University, across the Jericho Turnpike from the Nassau Coliseum in Hempstead, Long Island. They won the NASL Championship.

They played there again in 1973, before moving to Downing Stadium, a crumbling 22,500-seat horseshoe on Randalls Island in the middle of the East River for 1974. They were drawing fewer fans than ever. If a 2nd New York team failed within 2 years, the League was doomed.

So the team's owners, Warner Communications chairman Steve Ross and Atlantic Records boss Ahmet Ertegun, went fishing, and caught a bigger fish than Roy Scheider did in the year's biggest blockbuster, Jaws. Ertegun, a native of Turkey who knew the European game well, told Pelé, "In Madrid, you can win a cup. In New York, you can win a country." Intrigued, Pelé signed a contract that made him the highest-paid athlete in the world -- to be paid with money that the Cosmos didn't yet have.

On June 15, 1975, 21,278 paid their way into Downing Stadium for Pelé's debut, and another 50,000 were turned away, because there was no room for them. ABC broadcast the game live on Wide World of Sports. Knowing this, the Cosmos painted the patchy spots on the field green. If anything, that made it look worse. Pelé scored on his debut, but the game with the Dallas Tornado ended in a 2-2 draw. The Tornado included Kyle Rote Jr., probably the best American-born player at the time, and the son of a New York Giants legend.

Still, the Cosmos averaged only 10,450 fans per game. Pelé complained about the bad field, saying that, even in Brazil, he hadn't played home games on a worse one. The Cosmos made a deal to play in the new Giants Stadium once it was ready, but played their 1976 home games at a newly-renovated Yankee Stadium. So Pelé joined Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Frank Gifford, Sam Huff, Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano as heroes of the big ballyard in The Bronx. Average attendance rose to 18,227.

The 1977 season was to be their 1st at the Meadowlands, and Pelé announced it would be his last. The Cosmos spared no expense: They brought in his Brazil teammate Carlos Alberto, German superstar Franz Beckenbauer, and Italian striker Giorgio Chinaglia. Attendance rose to an average of 34,142, peaking at 77,691 for a Playoff game with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. This would remain a record for a soccer game in America until the 1994 World Cup.

The City, and the suburbs, really took to the Cosmos. They got the best tables in restaurants, and danced the night away at Studio 54, the discothèque of all discothèques. "We were as big as the Yankees," the Bronx-born, Long Island-raised goalkeeper Shep Messing said, "and bigger than the Giants." Pelé did TV commercials for Pepsi, even appearing in a print ad for the soda in the Yankees' Yearbook.

On August 28, 1977, at Civic Stadium (now Providence Park) in Portland, Oregon, the Cosmos beat the original version of the Seattle Sounders to win Soccer Bowl '77. In 21 seasons, Pelé had led his team to 7 national league championships.

On October 1, 1977, his testimonial match was held at a sold-out Giants Stadium. The Cosmos' opponent was Santos. He was to play the 1st half for the Cosmos, and the 2nd half for Santos. It was televised around the world, including on ABC's Wide World of Sports. His wife and father were in attendance. So was President Jimmy Carter, on his 53rd birthday. So was Bobby Moore. So was Muhammad Ali, the Heavyweight Champion of the World, who had survived a brutal fight with Earnie Shavers at Madison Square Garden across the Hudson River 2 days before.

 

When Pelé got the entire stadium to "Say it with me, three times: Love! Love! Love!" prior to the match, Ali, who liked to call himself "The Greatest" and generally refused to take a back seat to anyone, said, "Now I understand: He is greater than me."

Pelé, too, could "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."

Pelé scored on a 30-yard free kick in the 1st half, but was unable to help Santos come back in the 2nd half. The Cosmos won 2-1. Late in the game, it started to rain, and a Brazilian newspaper printed the headline, "Even the sky was crying."

Without him, the Cosmos actually had a higher average attendance in 1978, 47,856, and made it back-to-back titles. They won another title in 1980, and another in 1982. But, despite their bringing in other European and South American stars,  the novelty began to wear off. From 1983 to 1984, attendance dropped from 27,242 to just 12,817.

The team folded. Without a New York team, the League folded, and that set American soccer back a generation. When Major League Soccer was founded in 1996, the Meadowlands team was named the New York/New Jersey MetroStars, because it couldn't get the legal rights to the Cosmos name. They became the New York Red Bulls in 2006, and moved to a new stadium in Harrison, New Jersey in 2010. That same year, a new New York Cosmos was founded, but in a minor league, and they "went back to their roots" by playing at Hofstra. They have since moved about a mile away to the Mitchel Athletid Complex. New York City FC began play at the new Yankee Stadium in 2015.

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In 1981, Pelé appeared in the film Escape to Victory, set in a Nazi prisoner-of-war camp in World War II. He played Corporal Luis Fernandez, from the Caribbean nation of Trinidad & Tobago, then still a British colony, and thus a soldier in the British Army. (Despite direction by John Huson, the movie was ridiculous, but maintained some historical accuracy: It takes place in 1941, and Brazil did not enter the war until 1943, so he couldn't play a Brazilian.)

Among the other footballers in the film: American Werner Roth, a Cosmos teammate; England's Bobby Moore, Mike Summerbee and John Wark; Belgium's Paul Van Himst; Poland's Kazimierz Deyna, who had played in the NASL, as had Moore; and Argentina's Osvaldo Ardiles.

Michael Caine also starred, and Sylvester Stallone, cast to sell the film to the American market, played Captain Robert Hatch, an American serving in the Canadian Army (Pearl Harbor had not yet been attacked), who plays in goal. (Like I said: The movie was ridiculous.) Swedish actor Max von Sydow played the German camp commander.

Left to right: Stallone, Pelé, Caine

In 1994, Pelé was appointed a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador by the United Nations, and did a commercial for MasterCard to promote the 1994 World Cup, which America hosted and Brazil won, their 4th title. (They won a 5th in 2002, which remains more than any other country: Germany and Italy have each won 4; Argentina, 3; Uruguay and France, 2; England and Spain, 1.) 

From 1995 to 1998, he served in the cabinet of the President of Brazil, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, as Extraordinary Minister for Sport. However, as during his playing days, which included a military dictatorship, his relationship with his homeland's government has frequently been complicated. It says something that both his country's hard right and its hard left believed he was against them. He did, however, help them gain the hosting of the 2014 World Cup (which, like their previous attempt at hosting in 1950, ended in competitive disaster for the team) and the 2016 Olympics.

Pelé married 3 times. He is known to have 2 sons and 5 daughters. He outlived his 1st child, daughter Sandra Machado (1964-2006). His son Edson Cholbi Nascimento was born shortly after the 1970 World Cup triumph. Under the name Edinho, he, too, played for Santos -- with some irony, as a goalkeeper. He later managed the team, with his brother Joshua playing. In 2014, Edinho was arrested for laundering money from drug trafficking. He maintains his innocence, but was convicted, and sentenced to 12 years in prison. In 2019, he was allowed to serve the remainder of his term under house arrest.

In 2012, Pelé had a hip operation, but his rehabilitation from it proved difficult. From 2017 onward, he did not appear in public without a wheelchair. In 2019, having already had a kidney removed, he was hospitalized to remove stones from his remaining kidney. Shortly thereafter, he was diagnosed with colon cancer.

As the 2022 World Cup was played in Qatar, he fell into multiple organ failure, and was taken to Albert Einstein Hospital in São Paulo. He died there on December 29, 2022, at the age of 82.

*

December 29, 2022 was a Thursday. Baseball was out of season. There was 1 game in the NFL: The Dallas Cowboys beat the Tennessee Titans, 27-13 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.

There were 3 college football bowl games:

* Minnesota beat Syracuse, 28-20 in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium.

* Florida State beat Oklahoma, 35-32 in the Cheez-It Bowl at Camping World Stadium (formerly the Citrus Bowl) in Orlando, Florida.

* And Washington beat Texas, 27-20 in the Alamo Bowl at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

There were 6 games played in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks lost to the San Antonio Spurs, 122-115 at the AT&T Center (now the Frost Bank Center) in San Antonio. Julius Randle scored 41 in defeat for the Knickerbockers.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 116-110 at the TD Garden in Boston.

* The Charlotte Hornets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, 121-113 at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte.

* The Memphis Grizzlies beat the Toronto Raptors, 119-106 at the Scotiabank Centre in Toronto.

* The Dallas Mavericks beat the Houston Rockets, 129-114 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

* And the Indiana Pacers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 135-126 at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

And there were 11 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning, 2-1 in a shootout at the Amalie Arena (now the Benchmark International Arena) in Tampa.

* The New York Islanders beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 2-1 at the UBS Arena.

* The Ottawa Senators beat the Washington Capitals, 4-3 at the Capital One Arena in Washington. Alex DeBrincat scored the winning goal with 3:29 left in overtime.

* The Florida Panthers beat the Montreal Canadiens, 7-2 at the FLA Live Arena in the Miami suburb of Sunrise, Florida. (It's now named the Amerant Bank Arena.)

* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Detroit Red Wings, 6-3 at the KeBank Center in Buffalo.

* The Dallas Stars, the former Minnesota North Stars, beat the Minnesota Wild, 4-1 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.

* The St. Louis Blues beat their arch-rivals, the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-1 at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis.

* The Winnipeg Jets beat the Vancouver Canucks, 4-2 at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg.

* The Los Angeles Kings beat the Colorado Avalanche, 5-4 in a shootout at the Ball Arena in Denver.

* The Arizona Coyotes beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 6-3 at the Mullett Arena in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, Arizona.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the San Jose Sharks, 4-3 at the SAP Center in San Jose. Anthony DeAngelo scored the winning goal with 3:50 left in overtime.

* And the New Jersey Devils, the Boston Bruins, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Calgary Flames, the Edmonton Oilers, the Anaheim Ducks, the Carolina Hurricanes, the Nashville Predators, the Vegas Golden Knights and the Seattle Kraken were not scheduled.

December 18, 2022: The Crowning of Lionel Messi

December 18, 2022: A controversial World Cup comes to an end with a classic Final, won by Argentina, lifting its biggest star, Lionel Messi, into a legitimate place in the discussion for the title of the greatest player in the history of soccer.

The tournament never should have been given to Qatar. We all know that this country -- bigoted toward women, Jews and gays -- never should have been considered, let alone given the tournament. But the country's royal family guaranteed FIFA, the governing body of world soccer, its most profitable World Cup ever, and got it. As with Russia 2018, it was a bribe.

Throw in the moving of the tournament from late Spring and early Summer to late Autumn, due to the intense Middle East heat, the fact that the construction of these stadiums was a reminder of the plight of migrant labor, and even a reminder that there are places in this world where slavery still exists, and it was, clearly, the worst World Cup ever, from an administrative standpoint, surpassing the ones hosted by fascist governments in Italy in 1934, Argentina in 1978, and Russia in 2018.

The time zone differences were a minor issue. Certainly, it was more workable than in 2002, when Japan and South Korea teamed to hold it. If Australia -- with or without New Zealand stepping in as co-hosts -- want to host it in 2030 or beyond, that will have to be dealt with. The tournament has to be convenient for the hosts, but the rest of the world's needs also need to be taken into consideration. (At least Australia is a free country, and, due to having held the Olympics in 2000, and having a thriving A-League, would have the infrastructure already in place.)

(UPDATE: In 2023, FIFA awarded the World Cup for 2030 to a joint effort by the neighboring nations of Spain, Portugal and Morocco, because it was Europe's "turn," and Morocco was a bone thrown to Africa, which lasted hosted in South Africa in 2010. And they awarded the 2034 edition to Saudi Arabia, for the same reason as in 2018 and 2022: Money.)

Fox broadcast the tournament in America. A defeat during the Group Stage doesn't necessarily mean disaster. Argentina were upset by Saudi Arabia. It ended up not mattering, any more than did the most embarrassing Group Stage loss ever, West Germany falling to political (if not footballing) arch-rival East Germany on West German soil in 1974.

The English love to remind the Americans of certain things. "It's called 'football,' not 'soccer.'" The English love to remind us that they invented the sport. They did not. They invented its organization, but even that was a co-invention with the Scots. They love to remind us that they've won the World Cup, and we haven't. Well, we've won 4 World Cups. When they hear that, They say the women's game doesn't count. Then that means that their women's team, which has been more successful recently than their men's team, gets insulted.

And England claiming superiority because they've won 1 of the 17 World Cups, and that 1 being 56 years ago, is like Toronto Maple Leafs fans claiming 13 Stanley Cups, when they haven't even made the Finals since 1967. At least the New York Yankees have won 7 of their 27 World Series since England '66 and Toronto '67, and that's still the most since then, as well as overall.

And when the game was played, the U.S. did not play well, and England controlled the game most of the way. And still, it ended 0-0. It had all the markings of a Premier League game where Arsenal dominate but still can't find a win. England were better, but couldn't prove it on the scoreboard.

It was better for England than the 2010 match in South Africa, which became a 1-1 draw thanks to Rob Green's "Hand of Clod" mishandling of a Clint Dempsey shot. That was reminiscent of an Arsenal failure to win because of a fluke goal that never should have happened. For the vast majority of English fans, who like to mock Arsenal, the shoe seems to go on the other foot every 4 years.

Throw in the biggest upset in World Cup history, America's 1950 win over England in Brazil, and the record is as follows: American wins, 1; draws, 2; England wins, exactly none. For all their braggadocio, England have never beaten America at the World Cup.

The draw with England was encouraging, but it followed a draw with England's neighbors, Wales. That was depressing: We led 1-0 after 80 minutes, but indiscipline took over, and we gave away a stupid penalty.

This put us in a position where we had to beat Iran, which had the world supporting them as their people finally seem to have taken the initiative in challenging their evil religious-fanatic government. We won, but it was a very sluggish 1-0, and we felt like the least deserving team in the last 16.

And then we had to play the Netherlands, one of the teams that always seems to grab the world's attention at the World Cup. Haji Wright's goal to pull us within 2-1 was quickly canceled out, and the Dutch won, 3-1.

After not making the tournament at all the time before, making the knockout stage this time was a success. But the Dutch showed us that the difference between Top 16 and Top 8 is big. Manager Gregg Berhalter earned the right to be the man to bridge that difference, but, bridge it, he must, if we are to go any further than this on home soil in 2026.

To go with superstar midfielder Christian Pulisic, we need an out-and-out scorer, and we need stronger defenders. And it's not like "club football," where we can just go out and buy them. They have to be trained. Maybe Berhalter can bring Arsène Wenger in as a consultant, to help them develop "the quality" and "the mental strength." Because, for now, as to either one, we can truthfully say, "I did not see it."

One person who will never get to see it is Grant Wahl, a journalist who did as much as anyone in the MLS era to spread knowledge of soccer through America. The 49-year-old native of the Kansas side of the Kansas City area, a Princeton graduate, wrote the 2002 Sports Illustrated cover story that introduced the world to a high school basketball star named LeBron James, and continued to write for SI on the subject of soccer, for which Fox Sports hired him as a studio analyst.

He was in the press box watching the Quarterfinal between Argentina and the Netherlands, which Argentina won on penalties (of course: When it comes to penalties, the Dutch are famously as useless as the English), when he collapsed in his seat. Despite his detainment by Qatari authorities after flouting their rules against political statements, and subsequent death threats, it was quickly determined that his claims of feeling unwell were due to an aortic aneurysm, which ruptured.

After showing Senegal the difference between Teams 1 through 8 and Teams 9 through 16, England had to face France, and were lucky to be level going into the 78th minute, when former Arsenal star Olivier Giroud scored for France.

In the 84th minute, the Three Lions were awarded a penalty, and, of course, it would be Harry Kane, golden boy for England and Tottenham Hotspur, who took it. But his former Tottenham teammate, France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, stopped him. After his giveaway performance in Russia 2018, and now this, any discussion of whether Kane, a known diver for penalties, is "world class" needs to end.

Of course, Kane wasn't the only choker. England haven't had a good defense in 30 years, and, once again, their attack tightened up after falling behind. For England, at least historically, the difference between Teams 1 through 4 and Teams 5 through 8 might be bigger than the U.S.'s difference between Teams 1 through 8 and Teams 9 through 16.

No team from the African continent had ever reached a World Cup Semifinal. The only Muslim-majority country to have done so was Turkey in 2002. But Morocco won Group F. Then, avenging their geopolitical defeat of the Middle Ages, they beat Spain on penalties after a 0-0 draw, with goalkeeper Yassine Bounou stopping 3 penalties. "Bono" then played his club soccer in Spain, for Sevilla.

They faced Portugal in the Quarterfinal. Portugal were expected to play hard in what was to be the last World Cup for Cristiano Ronaldo. But Morocco held them, and Bounou's Sevilla teammate Youssef En-Nesyri scored in the 42nd minute, and Morocco were through to the Semifinal.

Which meant that they would face their former colonial overlords, France, the defending Champions. The dream ended quickly, as France scored in the 5th minute, and Morocco never looked like scoring. France added a goal to make the final 2-0.

As Croatia had done in the previous tournament by reaching the Final and holding their own in it, Morocco had won the world's hearts, but someone else would win the World Cup. It would be between, France, Les Bleus, and Argentina, La Albiceleste (the Sky Blues), at the Lusail Iconic Stadium, in Lusail, outside the Qatari capital of Doha. 

Only once before had a player scored 3 goals -- known among hockey fans as a "hat trick," and the term has drifted to soccer -- in a World Cup Final. That was Geoff Hurst of England in 1966, and the 2nd of those goals remains controversial.

Kylian Mbappé was a big reason why France won in 2018. He stood to be an even bigger reason why France won in 2022, had they done so. For the 1st 80 minutes of the Final, France did practically nothing in attack. They couldn't: Argentina just controlled the ball the whole way. There was no doubt in my mind that Argentina were the better team.

That said, it was a very rough game. Argentina have been accused of dirty tactics by the world's English-language media since their performance in England in 1966, and this game was no exception. Eventually, the French began replying with their own roughhousing.

I watched the game at Jack Doyle's, a bar in Midtown Manhattan, supporting France but surrounded by Argentina fans. A few of them had been in America long enough to get the joke, adapted from comedian Rodney Dangerfield's line about going to a prizefight: "I went to the World Cup, and a hockey game broke out!" The fact that this bar was only 2 blocks from Madison Square Garden deepened the connection.

Argentina's 1st goal was a penalty, given after an obvious dive by Ángel Di María. No surprise there, because he's spent most of his career at teams where cheating is the norm: Real Madrid, Manchester United, and was then with Juventus. Of course, the penalty was taken by their premier player, Messi.

It would have been hard to say Argentina cheated their way to victory, though, had the subsequent score of 2-0 held up: In the 36th minute, they had a strong setup, leading to a very nice goal by Di María, totally legit. "Ballgame," I said at the time. "France are not coming back from this."

And, until the 80th minute, it looked like I was right. But Randal Kolo Mouani was brought down in the box. That gave France a penalty and a lifeline. Mbappé took it and scored, and France had a chance. Just 1 minute later, Mbappé scored brilliantly from open play. It was 2-2. Argentina had blown a game they had controlled for its 1st 87 percent. As the old English soccer saying goes, "Two-nil, and they fucked it up!"

The last 10 minutes were nervy. And, as usual, given the heat and the injury stoppages, there were 8 minutes of stoppage time, but neither team could find a 3rd goal. On to extra time.

In the 108th minute, Messi fired. The ball crossed the goal line, but was kicked out by a France player before it could reach the back of the next. VAR (Video-Aided Refereeing) showed that the goal was complete, and it was properly awarded. Argentina, again, had it won.

Except, again, they didn't. A handball in the box by Gonzalo Montiel meant another penalty for France. Mbappé took it, and it was 3-3. After 123 minutes -- 134 minutes, counting all the stoppage time -- referee Szymon Marciniak of Poland blew his whistle, and this insane game was not over yet. It went to penalties.

France won the toss, and elected to kick first, against Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, of Aston Villa of Birmingham, England -- and, formerly, of Arsenal. There was no question that Mbappé was going to take the 1st one for them, even if it wouldn't be credited as a record-breaking 4th goal in a Final. He made it. Likewise, there was no question that the 1st Argentine to shoot toward Lloris would be Messi. He made it.

But in the 2nd Round, Martínez stopped Kingsley Coman. Paulo Dybala made it 2-1 Argentina. And then, after having a great tournament for France, Real Madrid's Aurélien Tchouaméni missed the net completely, shooting wide left. Leandro Parades made it 3-1. Kolo Muani converted to keep France going, but Montiel, a right back for Sevilla in the club game, converted to give Argentina the 4-2 win, and their 3rd World Cup.

And to give Lionel Messi the World Cup that had previously been denied to him, as he'd been with Argentina as they lost to Germany in penalties at the 2006 Quarterfinals; were knocked out by Germany in regular time at the 2010 Quarterfinals; lost to Germany yet again, in extra time, in the 2014 Final; and were knocked out by France in the Round of 16 in 2018. Finally, the "GOAT" (Greatest Of All Time) had removed the only doubt as to that title, by winning the biggest trophy of all, the one that had, until now, eluded him.

Pelé -- whose illness prevented his attendance at the World Cup for the 1st time since 1954, and who died before the month was out -- won 3 World Cups, was definitively the best player in the world longer than the debate between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo has raged; and, unlike Messi and Cristiano, never had to cheat, or to benefit from his teammates' cheating.

But Messi and Argentina had the World Cup. Although I didn't like the result, it was a great way to end a very shady tournament.

UPDATE: An article for ESPN.com, published after the 2026 World Cup, ranking all 23 tournaments, rated this one 11th, citing the shadiness of the background, but also the upsets, and the atmosphere brought by the fans of the upsetting teams.

*

December 18, 2022 was a Sunday. As crazy as the World Cup Final was, in America, it was, beyond any doubt, the craziest weekend in NFL history, and I have a separate entry for that.

There were no college football bowl games. Baseball was out of season. There were 7 games in that NBA that day: 

* The New York Knicks beat the Indiana Pacers, 109-106 at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

* The Brooklyn Nets beat the Detroit Pistons, 124-121 at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

* The Orlando Magic beat the Boston Celtics, 95-92 at the TD Garden in Boston.

* The Golden State Warriors beat the Toronto Raptors, 126-110 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

* The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Chicago Bulls, 150-126 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

* The Denver Nuggets beat the Charlotte Hornets, 119-115 at the Ball Arena in Denver.

* And the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Washington Wizards, 119-117 at the Crypto.com Arena.

And there were 5 games played in the NHL:

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the New York Rangers beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 7-1 at the United Center in Chicago. The Rangers pulled off the unusual feat of having 7 different scorers: Filip Chytil, Artemi Panarin, Kaapo Kakko, Jacob Trouba, Vincent Trochck, Vitali Kravtsov and Jonny Brodzinski.

* The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-2 at the PNC Arena (now the Lenovo Center) in Raleigh, North Carolina.

* The Minnesota Wild beat the Ottawa Senators, 4-2 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.

* The Calgary Flames beat the San Jose Sharks, 5-2 at the SAP Center in San Jose.

* And the Seattle Kraken beat the Winnipeg Jets, 3-2 at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg.

October 9, 1924: Soldier Field Opens

October 9, 1924: Municipal Grant Park Stadium opens on Chicago's lakefront. It would be renamed Soldier Field the next year. It would host many big college football games, including the annual Chicago College All-Star Game between a team of recently graduated players and the defending NFL Champions (who nearly always won) from 1934 to 1976.

And the name is "Soldier" Field. Never "Soldiers" or "Soldiers' Field." There is a Soldiers Field in Boston, part of Harvard University's sports complex.

Its best-known event was the 2nd fight between Heavyweight Champion Gene Tunney and the man from whom he took the title, Jack Dempsey, on September 22, 1927. In the 7th round, Dempsey knocked Tunney down, but he forgot to obey a new rule (which he, himself, had demanded): The referee would not start the count until the standing fighter retreated to a neutral corner. This gave Tunney an extra 5 seconds to regain his bearings, and he got up at the count of 9 (14), and went on to beat Dempsey in a decision.

It became known as the Long Count Fight, and, to this day, some people think Dempsey was robbed. He wasn't: The film clearly shows Tunney watching the referee's count. He could have gotten up at the count of 4, which should have been 9. Dempsey wasn't robbed. He didn't even blow it. He got beat, fair and square. may have had what remains the greatest attendance ever for a U.S. sporting event, with figures ranging from 104,000 to 130,000, depending on who you believe.

It definitely was the site of the largest football crowd ever, 123,000, to see Notre Dame play USC a few weeks after the Long Count. That record stood until a 2016 Tennessee-Virginia game was staged at Bristol Motor Speedway in front of 156,990. The 1926 Army-Navy Game was played there, in front of over 100,000.

The original south side gate. Along with the columns,

it was the only thing saved from the original stadium.

The Chicago Rockets of the All-America Football Conference played at Soldier Field in 1946, '47 and '48, changing their name to the Chicago Hornets in '49. They were not admitted into the NFL with their AAFC brethren in Cleveland, San Francisco and Baltimore. The Chicago Cardinals played their last season there, in 1959, before moving to St. Louis. The Chicago Fire of the World Football League played there in 1974. And the Chicago Blitz of the United States Football League played there in 1983 and 1984.

Amazingly, the Chicago Bears played at Wrigley Field from 1921 to 1970, with the occasional single-game exception. The story I heard is that Bears founder-owner-coach George Halas was a good friend of both the Wrigley and Veeck families, and felt loyalty to them, and that's why he stayed at Wrigley even though it had just 47,000 seats for football.

But I heard another story that Halas was a Republican, and didn't like Chicago's Democratic Mayor, Richard J. Daley (whose son Richard M. later broke his father's record for longest-serving Mayor), and didn't want to pay the city Parks Department a lot of rent. This is believable, because Halas was known to be cheap. The real reason the Bears moved to Soldier Field in 1971 was Monday Night Football: Halas wanted the revenue, and Wrigley didn't have lights until 1988.

Games of the 1994 World Cup and the 1999 Women's World Cup were also held at the old Soldier Field. MLS' Chicago Fire made it their 1st home ground, playing at the old version from 1998 to 2001, and the new version from 2003 to 2005, and returning there starting in 2020.

Soldier Field during the 1994 World Cup

A 2002-03 renovation, during which the Bears played "home" games at the University of Illinois' Memorial Stadium in Champaign, demolished all but the south gate, and the iconic (if not Ionic, they're in the Doric style) Greek-style columns that used to hang over the stadium, and are now visible only from the outside. It doesn't look like "Soldier Field" anymore: One critic called it The Eyesore on the Lake Shore.

Capacity is now roughly what it was in the last few years prior to the renovation, 61,500. And while the Bears won 8 Championships while playing at Wrigley (it took the Cubs until 2016 to win even 1 title there), they've only won one more at Soldier Field, the 1985 title capped by Super Bowl XX. The Monsters of the Midway have been tremendous underachievers since leaving Wrigley, having been to only 1 of the last 35 Super Bowls, and losing it.

The reduced atmosphere, and thus the reduced home-field advantage, may be a part of that, much as similar reductions in atmosphere, passion and on-field performance has been blamed by Washington Redskins fans on the 1997 move from the in-the-District Robert F. Kennedy Stadium to the suburban FedEx Field, Yankee Fans on the 2009 move from the old Yankee Stadium to the new one, and Arsenal fans on the 2006 move from Arsenal Stadium (a.k.a. "Highbury") to the Emirates Stadium.

UPDATE: In 2023, the Bears announced a plan to tear down the Arlington Park horse-racing track, 27 miles northwest of the Loop in Arlington Heights -- nearly twice as far from downtown as O'Hare International Airport -- and build a dome there, possibly groundsharing with baseball's White Sox. Nearly every Bears fan was against this.

So an alternative plan was drawn up, to build a stadium on the parkland just south of the current one, keeping the only parts that remained from the original stadium: The columns on each sideline, and the southern gate with its dedication to the military personnel.

*

October 9, 1924 was a Thursday. There was only one score on this historic day. Game 6 of the World Series was played at Griffith Stadium in Washington. The Washington Senators beat the New York Giants, 2-1. The next day, the Senators won the World Series for what turned out to be the only time.

July 30, 1966: England Win the World Cup

Captain Bobby Moore raises the Jules Rimet Trophy,

while his teammates raise him

July 30, 1966: England win the World Cup, beating West Germany 4-2 after extra time, on home soil, at the original Wembley Stadium in London.

England had never done well in past World Cups, but were determined to show the world that the country that had invented the sport (though the Greeks and the Chinese had football-like games 500 years before the birth of Christ) just how it could play the sport, especially on home soil.

England were managed by Alf Ramsey, who had played right back for England at the 1950 World Cup, and on the Tottenham Hotspur team that won the Football League title in 1951; and was hired to manage England after leading Ipswich Town to the League title in 1962. These were the players he selected:

* Goalkeepers: Number 1, Gordon Banks, Leicester City; 12, Ron Springett, Sheffield Wednesday; 13, Peter Bonetti, Chelsea.

* Defenders: 2, George Cohen, Fulham; 3, Ray Wilson, Everton; 5, Jack Charlton, Leeds United; 6, Bobby Moore, West Ham United, England's Captain; 14, Jimmy Armfield, Blackpool; 15, Gerry Byrne, Liverpool; 18, Norman Hunter, Leeds United.

* Midfielders: 4, Norbert "Nobby" Stiles, Manchester United; 7, Alan Ball, Blackpool; 9, Bobby Charlton, Manchester United, younger brother of Jack; 16, Martin Peters, West Ham United; 17, Ron Flowers, Wolverhampton Wanderers; 20, Ian Callaghan, Liverpool; 22, George Eastham, Arsenal.

* Forwards: 8, Jimmy Greaves, Tottenham Hotspur; 10, Geoff Hurst, West Ham United; 11, John Connelly, Manchester United; 19, Terry Paine, Southampton; 21, Roger Hunt, Liverpool.

England played all of their games in Group 1 at the national stadium, the original version of Wembley Stadium in West London. They got off to a slow start with a 0-0 draw against Uruguay, then beat Mexico and France, in each case by a 2-0 score, to win the Group. Uruguay also advanced.

Old Wembley

Group 2 was won by West Germany, with Argentina advancing as well. Group 3 was won by Portugal, with Hungary following. Two-time defending Champions Brazil only finished 3rd in Group 3, because defenders from Portugal and Bulgaria relentlessly fouled Pelé, by this point recognized as the best player in the world. Brazil would be back in 1970, but, for 1966, they were out.

And Group 4 was won by the Soviet Union, with another Communist nation, North Korea, surprising everyone by also advancing. North Korea's 1-0 win over Italy at Ayresome Park in Middlesbrough, Yorkshire, is the most embarrassing defeat in Italy's history. (The most infuriating one was also against Koreans, co-host South Korea, in the 2002 World Cup.)

In the Quarterfinals, West Germany beat Uruguay 4-0 at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, Yorkshire, home of Sheffield Wednesday. The other games were considerably more dramatic. It took until Hurst's goal in the 78th minute for England to beat Argentina, 1-0 at Wembley. With memories of Soviet tanks crushing the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 still fresh, the Soviet team beat Hungary 2-1 at Roker Park in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear.

And at Goodison Park in Liverpool, home of Everton, North Korea took a 3-0 lead on Portugal, before Eusébio -- one of several players from Mozambique that Portugal fielded before that African colony gained its independence in 1975 -- scored 4 goals, 2 spectacular ones from open play and 2 penalties, to lead Portugal to a 5-3 win. With Pelé literally kicked out of the tournament, Eusébio was its dominant player.

Bobby Charlton scored 2 goals for England in the Semifinal against Portugal at Wembley. A late penalty, converted by Eusébio, briefly put the game in doubt, but England held on for the 2-1 win. The other Semifinal, at Goodison Park, had echoes of both World Wars, but the opposite result of each, as West Germany defeated the Soviet Union, 2-1.

As a crowd of 96,924 filed into Wembley, "The Great War" and "The War" were on Ramsey's mind as he addressed his players before the Final: "Fear not if they shall defeat us at our national game on our soil; for, twice in this century, we have defeated them at their national game, on their soil."

England wore red, and West Germany wore white. Kickoff, as was traditional in England, came at 3:00 PM on a Saturday. In America, NBC aired the Final on a 2-hour film delay, using the black-and-white feed from the BBC. This marked the 1st time that soccer had ever been shown in the United States as a stand-alone television event.

In the 12th minute, disaster struck for England: Siegfried Held of Borussia Dortmund sent a cross into the penalty area. Wilson attempted to head it away, but sent it in the wrong direction, to Helmut Haller, then playing his "club football" for Italian side Bologna. He put the ball past Banks, and it was 1-0 to "Ze Germans."

The lead didn't last long, as Hurst put a header past Hans Tilkowski of Dortmund. The score remained 1-1 until the 78th minute, when England won a corner. Ball took it, and it reached Hurst, whose shot was deflected by Tilkowski, to Hust's West Ham teammate Peters, who scored. It was 2-1 England.

England just had to hang on for another 12 to 15 minutes. They couldn't: Jack Charlton fouled Uwe Seeler of Hamburg, West Germamy's Captain and best scorer, in the 89th minute. The ensuing free kick caused a scramble, where Wolfgang Weber of Köln took it, and shot. It deflected off Karl-Heinz Schnellinger of Italian team AC Milan, and went in past Banks. Banks claimed that the ball hit Schnellinger's arm, which would make the play, however unintentional, handball. But replays showed that the ball hit him on the back. And so, it was 2-2, and there would be extra time.

In the 95th minute, Bobby Charlton hit the post, took the rebound, and shot wide. Then, in the 101st minute, came the most controversial shot in the history of soccer. Ball put in a cross, Hurst took it, and fired. The ball hit the underside of the crossbar, bounced down, and was cleared.

The referee was Gottlieb Dienst -- in spite of his German-sounding name, he was from Switzerland: Had he actually been from Germany, he would have been ineligible to officiate. He wasn't sure if the ball had gone in. He asked a linesman, Tofiq Bahramov, from Azerbaijan but then representing the Soviet Union: He said the ball crossed the goal line, and Dienst gave the goal. 3-2 England.

Ever since, the Germans have argued that the ball did not fully cross the goal line, and blamed "the Russian judge" for it. Since the coming of Video Assisted Refereeing (VAR), it has been argued more strenuously than ever that the Germans were cheated by a home-team call. And computer analysis has suggested that "only" 97 percent of the ball got over the line, roughly the percentage that cost Liverpool a goal in a game against Manchester City, and thus the Premier League title, in 2019.

Hunt immediately turned to celebrate the goal with Hurst. Hunt went to his grave insisting that, if he thought the ball hadn't gone in, he would have rushed forward to tap it in, which makes sense.

I've seen the play many times. The ball clearly hit the top of the net before it came back down. It was a legitimate goal. You don't believe me? Judge for yourself.

In the 120th and final minute of play -- not counting whatever stoppage time would be added on to the end of extra time -- West German manager Helmut Schön sent his defenders forward in one last desperate attempt. But Moore, got the ball, found an unmarked Hurst, and passed it to him.

Some fans ran onto the field, and got closer to Hurst than any German players did. He completed what remains the only hat trick, the only 3-goal performance, by a man in a World Cup Final, matched only by American Carli Lloyd in the 2015 Women's World Cup Final. And this 4th goal for England ensured that the disputed goal from earlier wouldn't matter.

Geoff Hurst

As Hunt approached his shot, BBC announcer Kenneth Wolstenholme made the most famous call in the history of sportscasting -- yes, more famous than "The Giants win the Pennant!":

And here comes Hurst! He's got... Some people are on the pitch! They think it's all over! It is now! It's four!

Kenneth Wolstenholme

There was a minute of stoppage time, but the Germans could do nothing with it. England had won, 4-2. Captain Moore led the England players up the famous Wembley steps, and received the World Cup trophy from his head of state, Queen Elizabeth II.

England have been inconsistent in international tournaments since. They didn't reach another Final until Euro 2020 (delayed until 2021, due to COVID). Their best World Cup performances since have been runs to the Semifinal in 1990 and 2018.

And so, in the 1960s, England, in the midst of Beatlemania, Swinging London and early James Bond, had a moment that brought the whole country together. Old rivalries were put aside for the greatest patriotic moment since the end of The War.

Famously, Denis Law, Manchester United teammate of Bobby Charlton, Nobby Stiles and John Connelly, was such a Scottish patriot that, instead of watching the Final hosted and won by his arch-rival "country," he played golf.

America would have its great moment in 1969: We went to the Moon. England had theirs in 1966: They won the World Cup. Neither has been able to match it since.

The old Wembley Stadium is 1 of 3 stadiums to have hosted an Olympic Games, a World Cup Final and a UEFA European Cup/Champions League Final. The others are the Olympiastadions in Berlin and Munich. In 2024, the Stade de France outside Paris will make it 4.

*

This was the 3rd year in a row that Moore, Hurst and Peters had won a Final at Wembley. Together, the 3 players had helped East London team West Ham United win the 1964 FA Cup and the 1965 European Cup Winners' Cup. Being together on the 1966 England team led Hammers fans to say, "West Ham won the World Cup."

A statue of Hurst, Peters, and Everton’s Wilson hoisting Moore on their shoulders as he lifts the trophy, labeled "Champions," was placed across from the Boleyn Ground, a.k.a. Upton Park, West Ham's stadium at the time. (When the old Wembley was torn down in 2000, and the new one opened on the site in 2007, a statue of Moore, England's only World Cup-winning Captain, was placed outside.

But this cup success did not lead to League honors. Moore played for West Ham from 1958 to 1974, and over that stretch, their best finish was 6th in his rookie year, 1958-59, and again in 1972-73. In their Cup win year of 1963-64, they were 14th; in 1966-67, 16th, barely avoiding relegation. As teammate Harry Redknapp, later a Cup-winning manager, put it, "We had Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters, and we finished 17th every year. Which should tell you how crap the rest of us were."

Peters would later move to North London's Tottenham Hotspur, where he won the 1971 and 1973 League Cups and the 1972 UEFA Cup. Earlier, Greaves had played for Tottenham, a.k.a. "Spurs," winning the 1962 and 1967 FA Cups and the 1963 Cup Winners' Cup.

With Manchester United, Bobby Charlton won the 1957 League title; and, having added Stiles, and Scotland’s Denis Law, and Northern Ireland’s George Best, won the 1965 and 1967 League titles; the 1963 FA Cup; and the 1968 European Cup. Connelly won the League with Burnley in 1960 and Man United in 1965.

With Liverpool, Byrne, Callaghan and Hunt won the 1964 and 1966 Football League titles, and the 1965 FA Cup. Callaghan stayed long enough to also win the 1973, 1976 and 1977 League titles; the 1974 FA Cup; the 1973 and 1976 UEFA Cups; and the 197 and 1978 European Cups.

Flowers was the senior player. With Wolverhampton Wanderers, a.k.a. "Wolves," he won the 1954, 1959 and 1959 Football League titles, and the 1960 FA Cup. With Leicester City, Banks won the 1964 League Cup. With Stoke City, he and Eastham won the 1972 League Cup. With Chelsea, Bonetti won the 1965 League Cup, the 1970 FA Cup, and the 1971 European Cup Winners' Cup.

With Everton, Wilson won the 1966 FA Cup. They then purchased Ball from Blackpool, and he helped them win the 1970 League title, by which time Wilson had been sold. Oddly, he played for 3 teams in the season after they won the FA Cup: 1966 Everton, 1971 Arsenal, and 1976 Southampton – but never won it himself. He then went to the North American Soccer League, and won the league title in 1979.

With Leeds United, Jack Charlton and Norman Hunter won the 1968 League Cup, the 1968 and 1971 Inter-Cities Fairs Cups, the 1969 League title, and the 1972 FA Cup. Hunter was still there for the 1974 League title.

All of the England players lived to see the 25th Anniversary of the achievement. All lived to see the 30th and the 40th, except for Bobby Moore: He died of colon cancer on February 24, 1993. He was only 51.

Alan Ball, the youngest member of the team, died on April 25, 2007. He was only 61. His father had also died young, in a car crash at age 57. John Connelly died on October 25, 2012, apparently of heart failure. He was 74. Ron Springett died on September 12, 2015, also apparently of heart failure. He was 80. Gerry Byrne died on November 28, 2015, of complications of Alzheimer's disease. He was 77.

In addition to Byrne's battle with Alzheimer's, 4 other members of that team had experienced dementia by the time of the 50th Anniversary in 2016. Wilson, Stiles and Peters had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's; and Jack Charlton says, "I haven't got a memory now. I forget things easily." He is no longer allowed to drive, or to go fishing alone. His brother Bobby, the most beloved of living English footballers at the time, would also be diagnosed with dementia.

Stiles also battled cancer, as did Banks and Greaves. Greaves, the Football League's all-time leading goalscorer, had strokes, which left him wheelchair-bound.

Their numbers do not include Jeff Astle, perhaps the English footballer best known for having had football-related dementia. He starred as a forward for West Midlands club West Bromwich Albion, and played for England in the 1970 World Cup. He died in 2002. Nor do they include Gerd Müller, the German star who did not make that World Cup, but would eliminate England from the 1970 edition and win it in 1974, and was diagnosed in 2015, and died in 2021.

Pat Wilson, Ray's wife, said, "There are people he played with at Huddersfield and Everton with Alzheimer's. They are all over. They have talked about heading the leather ball causing it." The balls of that era were heavier than they are today, and, being made of leather, got heavier still when wet.

The surviving players had a golf outing every year, for as long as they could. John Stiles, Nobby's son, said, "It's a real shame he can't go to the get-together anymore, because he loved going. He loved the camaraderie they had. That is what made them so special. But, unfortunately, like so many who played in that era and headed those heavy balls, my father has now got dementia. Many other players have some sort of degenerative brain disease."

When an event like winning a world championship happens, they say the participants and the spectators "will never forget." Sadly, we now know that this is not necessarily true.

In 2018, Jimmy Armfield died of non-Hodgkins lymphoma on January 22; and Ray Wilson died of Alzheimer's disease on May 15.

In 2019, Gordon Banks died of cancer on February 12, and Martin Peters died of Alzheimer's disease on December 21.

In 2020, Peter Bonetti died on April 12, of what was only listed as "a long illness"; Norman Hunter died from COVID-19 on April 17; Jack Charlton died of lymphoma on July 10, also having dealt with dementia; and Nobby Stiles died on October 30, from the combined effects of cancer and dementia.

In 2021, Jimmy Greaves died of cancer on September 19; Roger Hunt died on September 27, of what was only listed as "a prolonged illness"; and Ron Flowers died on November 12, of an undisclosed cause.

So, as of July 11, 2022, the following 6 players are still alive: George Cohen, Bobby Charlton, Geoff Hurst, Terry Paine, Ian Callaghan and George Eastham. And Charlton has now been diagnosed with dementia, too.

UPDATE: George Cohen died on December 23, 2022. Bobby Charlton died on October 21, 2023. George Eastham died on December 20, 2024. That leaves Hurst, Paine and Callaghan, and only Hurst among those who played in the Final.

An article for ESPN.com, published after the 2026 World Cup, ranking all 23 tournaments, rated this one 2nd, behind 1982. 

*

July 30, 1966 was a Saturday. These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Chicago White Sox, 6-0 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Gary Peters pitched a 3-hit shutout. Mel Stottlemyre only pitched 4 innings, Jim Bouton wasn't much better in his 3, and the Dooley Womack pitched a scoreless 8th inning. Mickey Mantle went 1-for-3. Roger Maris was injured and did not play.

* The New York Mets beat the Chicago Cubs, 6-3 at Shea Stadium. Ernie Banks hit a home run.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Washington Senators, 8-2 at District of Columbia Stadium in Washington. (It was renamed Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in 1969.) Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI.

* The Atlanta Braves swept a doubleheader from the San Francisco Giants at Atlanta Stadium. (It was renamed Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in 1975.) They won the opener, 6-5. Denis Menke singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning. Willie Mays hit a home run, and then got the nightcap off. The Braves won that, 15-2. Gene Oliver hit 3 home runs. Over the 2 games, Hank Aaron went 4-for-7 with a walk and 2 RBIs.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-1 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Willie Stargell went 0-for-4, and Roberto Clemente did not play.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Houston Astros, 5-1 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Pete Rose went 1-for-4.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Baltimore Orioles, 7-0 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Dave Boswell allowed only 3 baserunners: A single to Russ Snyder, a walk to Luis Aparicio, and he hit Davey Johnson with a pitch. Neither Brooks Robinson nor Frank Robinson reached base. Harmon Killebrew and Earl Battey homered for the Twins.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-1 at the new Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Lou Brock went 3-for-4 with a solo home run and a stolen base.

* The Kansas City Athletics beat the Detroit Tigers, 2-1 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. Al Kaline went 1-for-4.

* The California Angels beat the Cleveland Indians, 2-1 at Anaheim Stadium. (It was renamed Edision International Field in 1997, and Angel Stadium of Anaheim in 2004.)