SEATTLE — It’s in a safe deposit box, a number 10 jersey worn by none other than Pelé.
Soccer’s biggest star died on Dec. 29.
Jimmy McAlister got the jersey in 1977, right after Pelé's team, the New York Cosmos, beat the original Seattle Sounders in the North American Soccer League’s title game, Soccer Bowl ‘77.
It was the Brazilian soccer icon’s last professional match.
“I was just a 20-year-old playing the game asking a gentleman for his jersey, and he was gracious enough to give me the jersey,” said McAlister, who played for the Sounders.
“Possibly the greatest player of all time had his swan song in that game,” McAlister said.
Pelé died of cancer at age 82.
A giant in Brazil, his funeral was a national event with a wake lasting 24 hours.
“He was a hero before there were heroes,” McAlister said.
By playing in the United States, Pelé helped jump-start American soccer.
“He was a great ambassador for the game. I noticed how he always had time for everybody,” McAlister said.
When he played against Pelé, McAlister was just beginning his professional soccer career.
More than 40 years later, McAlister leads Seattle United, working with youth soccer players.
He gets offers to buy the jersey but keeps saying no.
“At some point, if it can do good, I can see myself selling it. It would have to be something that would help kids, too, not just me and my family,” McAlister said.
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