It’s generally agreed that the greatest footballer in history was Pele.
I MET him — here’s how:
It was in New York, and I had just completed an 11-city tour with Cork Hibernians, entertaining at each of their games by giving exhibitions of ball control (Juggling).
When Hibs returned to Ireland, I stayed on. I’d been invited to do an exhibition at Yankee Stadium at the game between New York Cosmos and Boston Minutemen.
Cosmos had signed Pele.
But first I had to do an audition for the Promotions Director of Cosmos — Richard Alford.
Doing that, wearing a suit, and ordinary everyday shoes, in a narrow corridor on the 40th floor of Rockefeller Plaza Building on 5th Avenue, was no joke I can assure you. Especially as the staff kept coming and going, watching me.
Anyway they booked me for the game, which was to take place in two days time.
When I arrived at the training ground, all the players, including Pele, had started training. I was fully kitted out, so I started to keep the ball up, just 10 yards from the players.
When training ended, a member of the staff introduced me to the most fabulous figure in world football — the great Pele! My first meeting with Pele!
I told him I would be ball juggling at the game next evening, and that I was feeling a bit nervous. He said that he’d been watching me, and that I’d be fine. That made me feel great.
I had a photograph, taken with my camera, of Pele and me.
Then Pele suggested we keep the ball up together. Dave Clements, the Northern Ireland international, again using my camera, took another picture of Pele and me.
I didn’t find out until later that the camera had run out of film!
We all went into the dressing-room then, and Pele said to me, “See you at the game tomorrow,” and went to have a shower. Dave Clements pointed to Pele’s £50,000 mother of pearl watch, which he had left casually lying on the table.
The other picture(below) is that moment with Dave Clements.
The following night was to turn out to be one of the greatest moments of my life. But that’s another story.
