Bobby Moore and Pelé famously did battle three times during their iconic international careers.
The two all-time greats first clashed in May 1964, when Pelé was among Brazil’s scorers in a 5-1 win over Moore’s England in the Taça das Nações (Nations Cup), a four-team tournament held to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Brazilian Football Confederation, in Rio de Janeiro.
Five years later, in June 1969, Pelé’s Brazil came from a goal down to defeat Moore’s England in a friendly also played at Rio’s Maracanã Stadium.
And Brazil’s No10 celebrated a hat-trick of victories over England’s No6 when Jairzinho’s second-half goal settled a FIFA World Cup group-stage tie played in Guadalajara, Mexico, in June 1970.
Three months later, on Wednesday 23 September 1970, they met again, this time in the colours of the clubs they represented for the vast majority of their respective careers – Moore with West Ham United and Pelé with Brazilian side Santos – in an exhibition match played at Randall’s Island Stadium in New York City.
The match was organised by the United States Soccer Federation and the North American Soccer League (NASL), commissioner of which was the former West Ham and Wales striker Phil Woosnam, in an attempt to grow the sport in the US.
Many of the 22,143 supporters in attendance were there simply to see Pelé in action, of course, but the presence of Moore and his West Ham teammates also played a part, with the city’s Caribbean population turning out to see Bermuda’s Clyde Best lead the line for the Hammers. Actor Sean Connery, who was then starring as James Bond’, was also in the stands.
According to the New York Times: “The game, quick and clean, ended in a 2‐2 tie. The expected duel between Bobby Moore and Pelé did not materialize, since Santos’ attack rarely led to confrontations between the great English halfback and the ‘deft Brazilian.”
Pelé did score twice, though, while Best did likewise for West Ham in an entertaining game in which the Irons came from a goal down to lead 2-1 before being pegged back by the Brazilian legend, and one which was disrupted midway through the second half by a pitch invasion of excited spectators that was cleared by two dozen police.
West Ham’s 17-man travelling party – 14 players including Moore and fellow 1966 FIFA World Cup winners Geoff Hurst and Jimmy Greaves, manager Ron Greenwood, physiotherapist Rob Jenkins and director Will Cearns – boarded a flight back to London the following day, Thursday 24 September. On the Friday, the squad travelled to Yorkshire and on the Saturday, Moore led the team out and Hurst netted a penalty in a 1-1 First Division draw at Huddersfield Town – how times have changed!
As two giants of the game, Moore and Pelé’s paths continued to cross regularly, with both playing in the NASL in the mid to late 1970s – Moore for San Antonio Thunder and Seattle Sounders and Pelé famously for the New York Cosmos.
Moore arrived in Texas on loan from Fulham in March 1976, fittingly made his Thunder debut in a pre-season game against Pelé’s Cosmos at Alamo Stadium. Before the game, the duo hosted a joint press conference, and 14,800 supporters turned out to watch Moore keep Pelé at bay and play his part in Victor Kodelja’s goal in San Antonio’s 1-0 win.
After facing one another on five occasions, Moore and Pelé finally teamed up, starring as Terry Brady and Corporal Luis Fernandez alongside Michael Caine and Sylvester Stallone in the 1981 sports war film Escape to Victory, the fictional plot of which sees a team of Allied POWs managed by former West Ham player Captain John Colby escape after playing an exhibition match against their German captors.
While the two legends have sadly since passed away – Moore in 1993 and Pelé in 2022 – West Ham will return to the Tri-State area this summer for the Premier League Summer Series.
There, the Hammers will join AFC Bournemouth, Everton and Manchester United for a four-team pre-season tournament, with double-header fixtures to be played in New Jersey, Chicago and Atlanta.
West Ham’s Summer Series kicks-off against Manchester United at the 82,500-capacity MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Saturday 26 July – the venue for the 2026 FIFA World Cup final.
From there, Graham Potter’s squad will head to 61,500-capacity Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois, to face Everton on Wednesday 30 July, before completing an exciting hat-trick of matches by taking on AFC Bournemouth at 71,000-capacity Mercedez-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, which is also a host city for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, on Sunday 3 August.
Tickets are now on General Sale for all three matches HERE.
Ticket prices for each double-header start from $77 (inclusive of fees), and each ticket will give fans the chance to see all four teams play across each matchday. Nearly a quarter of all tickets for the Premier League Summer Series are priced below $100.
