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Father of the 'beautiful game' Pele and Brazil ranked as century's top story
Posted: Sunday December 26, 1999 03:18 PM
LONDON (AP) -- If soccer is the global game, it is thanks in large part to one man, Pele, and one country, Brazil. The Pele-Brazil union finished first in a worldwide poll of Associated Press subscribers on the top international sports story of the 20th century. Three other defining stories received prominent mention: the Munich Olympic massacre, the career of Muhammad Ali and the Hitler-defying heroics of Jesse Owens. Sports editors and broadcasters from more than 30 countries -- not including the United States -- listed their top 10 choices. Points were awarded from 10 points for a first-place vote to one for 10th place. Pele and Brazil received 11 first-place votes and a total of 243 points. Pele revolutionized soccer into the "beautiful game." He played on three World Cup-title teams (1958, 1962 and 1970). Brazil also won in 1994 and finished runner-up in 1998. Pele said his most memorable moment was the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, where he scored the fourth goal in Brazil's 4-1 win against Italy in the final. "I was lucky enough to play in some great Brazilian sides, and that was one was probably the best of all," he said. By the time Pele retired in 1977 after a stint with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League, he had 1,281 goals. The No. 2 story of the century represented the darkest and most violent side of sports. The terrorist assault that shattered the 1972 Munich Olympics received 11 first-place votes and 210 points. The Olympics were changed forever after Palestinian gunmen raided the athletes' village, killed two Israelis and took others hostage. The 20-hour standoff ended with a bungled rescue attempt at the airport that left nine Israelis, five terrorists and a German policeman dead. Finishing third with 207 points was Ali, the brash, three-time heavyweight champion who spoke out against the Vietnam War, defied the draft, went into exile and came back to reclaim his title. Fourth with 196 points were the exploits of Owens at the 1936 Munich Olympics. Adolph Hitler wanted to use the games as propaganda for his Nazi vision of Aryan supremacy. But Owens, a black American, shattered that myth by winning four gold medals (100 meters, 200 meters, broad jump and sprint relay). Michael Jordan, who led the NBA in scoring 10 times and was voted MVP five times, was fifth with 102 points. Completing the top 10 were: the Olympic boycotts of 1976, 1980 and 1984; the Olympic bribery scandal; Bob Beamon's long jump at the 1968 Mexico Games; the turbulent soccer career of Diego Maradona; and the crash that killed Formula One driver Ayrton Senna in 1994. Other leading vote-getters: Ben Johnson's failed drug test at the 1988 Seoul Olympics; Carl Lewis' career; swimmer Mark Spitz's seven gold medals at the Munich Games; Roger Bannister's sub 4-minute mile; the Heysel Stadium tragedy and other soccer violence; and the distance running of Paavo Nurmi and Emile Zatopek.
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