Former Workington Reds forward Brian Tinnion has been giving his thoughts on the time he spent playing alongside Pele at New York Cosmos.
Workington-born Tinnion was one of three Englishmen who played with Pele under former Reds boss Ken Furphy at Cosmos.
A product of the Coalesce Under-18s side who played in the Junior Derwent Valley League, Tinnion played for Reds FA Youth Cup side before turning professional.
He played a total of 115 League and Cup games for the Reds and scored 33 goals before being sold to Wrexham in January 1968 for £14,000.
For the Welsh club Tinnion played 336 first team competitive games and scored 66 goals, mainly used as a winger.
He joined the Cosmos in 1976 and went on to play in Hawaii, Colorado, Detroit and Wichita before a successful coaching career in the USA.
Now 74, he lives in Detroit and this is what he told Barlow about how he ended up playing alongside Pele in New York for a season.
“I never had any desire to leave Wrexham. We were in Division Three and building a good team but John Neal called me into his office one day, and said Ken Furphy wanted me for New York Cosmos. I told him I didn’t want to go to America, but it was a good deal for Wrexham.
“He did a good sales pitch, did Ken. ‘Come and play with Pele’, he said. Well, if Wrexham didn’t want me…
“We played a 4-3-3 at the Cosmos with me on the right and Giorgio Chinaglia on the left and Pele like a withdrawn centre forward. I always remember Pele showing for the ball in one game and I didn’t pass to him.
“Ken was shouting: “Give it to Pele! Give it to Pele!” I said: “There are three men on him.” He said: “I don’t care if there are 10 men on him! Just give him the ball! They’ve come to see him, not you!” I just got the ball and gave it to Pele after that.
‘Pele was a lovely, genuine man. There was nothing big-headed about him. He knew he was a star. He knew he was a good player but he didn’t boast about anything. The press came into the dressing room after each game. They surrounded him and didn’t bother us. He handled it well.
‘He would do anything to promote the game. We would sit on the bus for 45 minutes after a game while he signed autographs. He would sign them until the bus driver went to fetch him and say: ‘That’s enough’.
‘Ken was right, I should have just given him the ball. He could handle it even with three men on him.”
