September 16, 2010
WE AREN'T EXACTLY CHOCKABLOCK WITH PELE'S AND MOORE'S:
A Shot That Captured the Bigger Meaning in Sports (ROB HUGHES, September 14, 2010, NY Times)
[T]his photograph captured the respect that two great players had for each another. As they exchanged jerseys, touches and looks, the sportsmanship between them is all in the image.No gloating, no fist-pumping from Pelé.
No despair, no defeatism from Bobby Moore.
Moore, in many eyes the most accomplished English defender ever, died of cancer in 1993. He regarded this photograph as his favorite in a career during which he captained his country 90 times, including the day England won the World Cup.
Pelé, a three-time winner of the World Cup and the most complete player in history, still considers this picture a defining moment in his life.
“Bobby Moore was my friend as well as the greatest defender I ever played against,” Pelé said after Moore’s death. “The world has lost one of its greatest football players and an honorable gentleman.”
Last week, the world lost the third man for whom this photograph meant so much.
John Varley, the photographer, died in his home county, Yorkshire, in northern England. Varley, who was 76, was a news photographer with a sensitive eye for moments beyond the news.
