After the recent death of Edson Arantes do Nascimento aka Pele, we will look back at the time when the Brazilian appeared at Home Park for Santos in a friendly against Plymouth Atgyle.
For the 37,639 who packed inside Home Park to see the great Pele appear alongside three other World Cup winners - Edu, Carlos Alberto and Clodoaldo - for Brazilian club side Santos against Plymouth Argyle on March 14, 1973, it seemed a like a dream come true.
By this stage, Pele was 32, and had played his final match for Brazil a year earlier against Yugoslavia - but he still remained a big draw.
However, what they didn't realise at the time was the game itself nearly didn't take place after the Santos directors demanded another £2,500, in addition to the £2,500 that the two clubs had previously agreed as a match fee.
Their request was initially refused by Argyle chairman Robert Daniel, to which the Santos directors response was 'no money, no match.' Nevertheless, with the gates bulging, Daniel reluctantly gave in to their demands.
When the match eventually got underway, it was the Pilgrims who took the lead through a stunning 30-yard strike from Mike Dowling. Further goals from Derek Rickard and Jimmy Hinch gave Argyle a 3-0 lead going into the half-time break.
During the interval, the completion of the game was again in the balance, as Santos refused to call it off again if the referee wasn't replaced. Pele, ever the diplomat, managed to restore order as he and his teammates came back out for the second half.
And it was Pele who reduced Santos' arrears to a single goal after the re-start from the penalty spot.
Edu pulled another goal back for the Brazilians, but the Pilgrims hung on to secure a memorable 3-2 victory.
At the final whistle, hundreds of youngsters swarmed onto the pitch to try and get Pele's autograph, and the great man himself swapped shirts with the player who marked him on the evening, Johnny Hore. However, the shirt would be destined for the Pilgrims' boardroom.
After the match, Robert Daniel handed the additional sum that had been demanded over to the Santos directors, and later reported the incident to authorities and they managed to get the money back several years later.
Argyle: Furnell (Aleksic), Provan, Sullivan, Hore, Saxton, Hague, Dowling, Rickard; Hinch (Davey), Latcham, Welsh.
Santos: Claudio, Alberto, Murias, Hermes, Leo, Marcal, Jair, Brecha (Pitico), Pitico (Vincente), Alcindo, Pele, Edu.
Scorers: Argyle - Dowling, Rickard, Hinch -- Santos - Pele (pen), Edu
Referee: Mr C. Nicholls (Plymouth)
Attendance: 37,639
