Description
Releases in early October 2023
Conceived by Hall of Fame photographer George Tiedemann, Pelé, His North American Years: A Tribute will be the first photographic book exclusively about Pelé’s years with the New York Cosmos.
Centered around three key games, his debut in 1975, the Soccer Bowl in 1977 and his Farewell the same year, the coffee-table sized book showcases those games in brilliant color photos.
Additional photos of other games, including Pelé’s appearance with Team USA in the Bicentennial Cup, as well as images of memorabilia (press credentials, programs, team photos, souvenirs, etc.) will be interspersed throughout the book, creating a compelling graphic story.
The book’s narrative will be a series of essays on the three highlighted games written by award-winning soccer journalist Charles Cuttone, who was on the Cosmos staff the entirety of Pelé’s time with the team.
A timeline of important games and events will weave together the three years of Pelé’s Cosmos career, along with quotes of tribute from team mates and other soccer personalities.
An appendix will include a game-by-game chart of Pelé’s career with the Cosmos, as well as other statistical information
About the Authors
Shooting for Sports Illustrated for some 25 years, George Tiedemann photographed some of the planet’s biggest and most prestigious sports events, including the Olympics, Daytona 500, Stanley Cup and NBA Finals, NCAA Basketball Final Four, World Series, Super Bowl and soccer World Cup, earning the iconic front cover position for his work on numerous occasions. His pictures also have appeared in Time, Newsweek, Life and People.
Although he carried a camera while serving four years in the Marines in Vietnam, Tiedemann began his professional career with the Asbury Park Press. He also worked for the Philadelphia Bulletin and freelanced for the National Football League. He served as Director of Photography for the North American Soccer League and photographed Pelé throughout his three years with the New York Cosmos.
Tiedemann was the first photographer to receive the National Soccer Hall of Fame’s Colin Jose Media Award, and only the third recipient overall when he was honored in 2007. Tiedemann photographed five men’s and three women’s World Cup Championships.
Born in Iceland during WWII to a U.S. Army Air Corps Sergeant, he learned to play soccer and take photographs while living in Libya. He currently resides in Howell Township, New Jersey.
Charles Cuttone is a three-time winner of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America writing award, He has been working in or writing about soccer for more than 40 years, in a career that began working in the public relations department of the New York Cosmos in 1975. A native New York, he now resides in Princess Anne, MD.
