Pelé 1958 Americana LTDA. Album Futebol PSA/DNA Authentic/10 Autograph | On-Card Autograph | 1958 World Cup

Sotheby’s is proud to offer what is, at the time of cataloging, the sole example of a signed 1958 Americana LTDA. sticker card to have ever been certified by PSA/DNA, featuring none other than the legendary Pelé.

PSA has only certified 70 examples from across the checklist of the 1958 Americana Ltda. Album Futebol sticker set, and of those only 20 Pelé examples. This is the only PSA certified example across the checklist to have also been signed, and this singular example has been adorned with a bold black autograph from perhaps the best player that world football has ever seen. The autograph has garnered a perfect Gem Mint 10 PSA/DNA grade. 

In 1958, the Americana Ltda. company produced a sticker album for collectors that featured players from the state league for Rio de Janeiro as well as the victorious Brazilian national team from that year’s World Cup. Collectors could assemble 200 stickers and turn them into Americana’s office in exchange for a number of prizes, including bikes, TVs, and washing machines among others. As a result, many of the prints issued did not survive individually. Those that have are viewed by many collectors as grails among early Pelé offerings. 

Often cited as one of the most visually appealing designs in the catalog of Pelé’s rookie issues, this example features a 17-year old Pelé eagerly facing the camera with a smile while donning his national team uniform against a blue background. While this issue is Pelé’s only appearance in the album, as he played outside of Rio de Janeiro at the club level. His appearance in his national team uniform illustrated the truly special nature of the year 1958 in Pelé’s career at the international level, which was complemented by a historic club level season. 

Internationally, Pelé made his World Cup debut for Brazil in Sweden. Famously, when Pelé was just nine years old in 1950, his father wept when Brazil lost that year’s World Cup. The child told his father not to worry, that he would win the World Cup for him. The 1950s saw Pelé develop into a world class talent and by 1958, he joined the national team in their effort to win the World Cup, just as Pelé had promised his father that he would. 

At the tournament he dazzled the world’s football fans and became the youngest goal scorer in World Cup history when he knocked in the winner against Wales in the quarterfinals (the last game and goal that Wales would see in the tournament until 2022). He followed that up with the youngest hat-trick of all time in the semifinal against France in a 5-2 rout before helping Brazil secure their first World Cup victory against Sweden with two goals in the final. Pelé became the youngest World Cup winner in history and set the tone for what would become his era. Before walking away from the game, Pelé would add two more World Cup victories to his resume before hanging up his boots for good. 

At the club level, Pelé proved himself a goalscoring savant. During the 1958 Campeonato Paulista, Pelé set the record for the competition with 58 goals scored, a record that still stands to this day and overwhelmed the next highest goalscorer, Pepe, who had 28 goals. Santos won for the fourth time and the third in four years, and would go on to a period of dominance while Pelé stayed with the side into the 1970s. It would also prove to be the second of nine straight seasons where Pelé was the top goalscorer, although even he could never eclipse what he had done as he became an 18 year old. 

From the start, Pelé was an exceptional talent, and it was clear that he would make a major impact in the world of football. This example represents the genesis of one of the most important sporting careers in history. Sotheby’s is proud to bring this incredibly rare piece to auction.

The PSA certificate number for this card is: 102056220.

Going Deeper - Pele

Often considered one of the greatest footballers of all time, Pelé joined Santos FC as a 15-year old youngster in 1956. He quickly developed into one of the league’s most prolific scorers and attracted the attention of the Brazilian national team. By the age of 16, Pelé was already a frequent goalscorer at the Brazilian club level. 

He gained national recognition as a prodigious forward on Brazil’s 1958 FIFA World Cup championship squad. In six total matches, Pelé scored 6 goals, which tied him for the second most of any player in the tournament. Additionally, he was named to the World Cup All-Star Team as one of the top 11 players at the World Cup. 

Pelé went on to help Brazil recapture the Jules Rimet trophy as World Cup champions in both 1962 and 1970. His three World Cup victories are the most of any player in the history of football. 

At the club level with Santos, Pelé continued to star for nearly two decades. In 19 seasons, the superstar netted 643 total goals. This mark stood as the most goals scored for a single club for over 40 years until it was finally surpassed by Lionel Messi in 2020. 

Upon joining the New York Cosmos in 1975, Pelé brought a new level of popularity to ‘The Beautiful Game’ in the United States. Most notably, he led the Cosmos to the 1977 Soccer Bowl (NASL Championship) in his third and final season with the club. Thanks in large part to Pelé, New York Cosmos matches set multiple attendance records including an NASL-record crowd of 77,691 spectators for the Cosmos’ 1977 playoffs match against the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers.

Pelé was named as a joint winner of FIFA Player of the Century alongside Diego Maradona. After retiring, he remained in the public view as a global icon and ambassador of football until his death in 2022.