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ONCE IN A LIFETIME

The Incredible Story of the New York Cosmos

Gavin Newsham

Copyright 2006 by Gavin Newsham

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, or the facilitation thereof, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review. Any members of educational institutions wishing to photocopy part or all of the work for classroom use, or publishers who would like to obtain permission to include the work in an anthology, should send their inquiries to Grove/Atlantic, Inc., 841 Broadway, New York, NY 10003.

First published in Great Britain in 2006 by
Atlantic Books, Ltd., London

Published simultaneously in Canada
Printed in the United States of America

FIRST AMERICAN EDITION

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Newsham, Gavin
Once in a lifetime: the incredible story of the New York Cosmos
/by Gavin Newsham.
p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978-1-5558-4869-9
1. New York Cosmos (Soccer team)History.
I. Title: Incredible story of the New York Cosmos. II. Title.
GV943.6.N42N49 2006
796.33463097471dc22 2005059100

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Grove Press
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841 Broadway
New York, NY 10003

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to Betsy and Frank

Section 1

Pels first practice with the Cosmos.

Pels first match at Randalls Island.

Georgio Chinaglia and Peppe Pinton celebrating a goal.

The Cosmos returning home after the 1977 Soccer Bowl in Portland.

Carlos Alberto, Franz Beckenbauer, Pel and Georgio Chinaglia celebrating a goal.

Pel with Johan Cruyff.

Dennis Tueart.

Jay Emmett and Pel onboard the Warner jet.

Mario Mariani dressed as Bugs Bunny with his wife.

Pel celebrating a goal.

The Cosmos Girls cheering for the team.

President Gerald Ford with the Cosmos.

Henry Kissinger and Pel.

Ahmet Ertegun, Steve Ross and Jay Emmett.

Cosmos fans with their banners.

Document announcing the conception of Cosmos Day in New Jersey.

Section 2

The Cosmos team in Mexico.

The Cosmos team lining up before a game in 1974.

Shep Messing, Giorgio Chinaglia, Werner Roth and Franz Beckenbauer.

Star spottingShep Messing and his wife Arden with Pel and Eusebio.

Pel with Kyle Rote Jr.

The Cosmos team in 1976.

Franz Beckenbauer and Carlos Alberto.

Henry Kissinger and Franz Beckenbauer.

Mario Mariani dressed as Bugs Bunny greeting Cosmos fans.

Scoreboard showing victory for the Cosmos.

Giorgio Chinaglia.

Johan Cruyff.

Ticket stub from Pels last game for the Cosmos.

Muhammad Ali on the pitch with Pel.

Pel being carried out of Giants Stadium.

Ticket stub from a Welcome Pel match in Japan.

When I wrote for 90 Minutes soccer magazine in the mid-1990s it was one of those tacit agreements among the staff that you should never call the game soccer. It was, we concluded, entirely un-British and smacked of, well, the American version of the game. When I use the word soccer in this book, I do so not because I like itI dontbut because it is the name used by most of the interviewees to describe the game in a country where football is that other game played by men in helmets.

This, moreover, was never meant to be a book about the myriad reasons why the North American Soccer League collapsed or why the game of soccer failed to take its opportunity in the United States. There are several books already in print that more than adequately explain why America failed to take the rest of the worlds game to their hearts. Instead, it was simply designed to chronicle the inconceivable peaks and all too predictable troughs of the phenomenon that was the Cosmos.

As ever, there are innumerable people that have gone beyond the call of duty to help out with this book. First and foremost, I would like to thank everyone at Passion Pictures, especially the Johns, Dower and Battsek, and the ever-helpful Jess Ludgrove. This, after all, is their book and I wholeheartedly recommend that you see their feature-length documentary of the Cosmos story, Once in a LifetimeThe Incredible Story of the New York Cosmos. Throughout the writing process Passion Pictures has always been on hand with a telephone number or a transcript, a contact or a clue, and I would like to thank them for giving me this incredible opportunity to work with them. Its been a pleasure. I would also like to thank Dan Davies for suggesting my name at the outset. It should also be noted that a number of quotes were sourced directly from interviews conducted by Passion Pictures for their documentary and then subsequently used in this book.

Thanks also to all those people on both sides of the Atlantic who agreed to be interviewed for the book. Every contribution, no matter how small, was much appreciated. Special thanks are reserved for Clive Toye who has put me straight on countless issues and redirected me when Ive been barking up the wrong tree on more occasions than I care to remember. All he has ever asked in return for all his advice is that I mention that he is a lifelong Exeter City fan and a member of the Exeter City Supporters Trust. Its a small price to pay. Thanks again Clive.

Thanks also to Phil Woosnam, Len Renery, the all-knowing Colin Jose and Jack Huckel at the National Soccer Hall of Fame, Dave Wasser at the NASL Alumni Association, George Tiedemann, James Trecker, Jay Emmett, Shep Messing and Jamie Trecker for their help.

Im also indebted to Toby Mundy, Louisa Joyner and everyone at Atlantic Books for giving me the chance to write this book and for bearing with me at the death. Thanks also to my agent-cum-therapist, John Pawsey, whose advice has been invaluable.

Thanks to everyone at KYN, most notably Tim Southwell, Iestyn George, Phil Babb, Danny Crouch, Steve Read, Pandora George, Ben Marshall, Lee Goodall, Gerry East, Owen Black-hurst, Dan Owen, Joe Slater, Sifaeli Tesha, Shaun McGuckian and Jim Davies for their patience and understanding.

Advice and support came in many shapes and sizes and it would be remiss of me not to mention Gordon Thomson, Bill Borrows, Ed Needham, Michael Hodges, Eleanor Levy, Andy Strickland, Graham Wray, Graeme Thomson and Alan Rutter. Paul Hawksbee, Andy Jacobs and everyone at TalkSPORT also warrant a mention for their continued and much-valued support.

On the family front, I would like to thank Betty Farragher, Bernadette and Adrian Mullen for all their help over the years; and Mum, Dad and Darren for their support. Finally, Id like to thank my wife, Ann. It is a constant source of bewilderment to me how you manage to entertain two preschool children for all their waking hours and I dont know how you do it darling, but Im really glad you can and you do. You are a wonderful wife and a marvelous mother. Thanks honey.

Gavin Newsham

Brighton

January 2006

They called him Larry but his name was Joe Gaetjens. Everybody loved Joe. Cheery and unassuming, he was the kind of kid who had a smile for a stranger and who made friends like others made coffee.