Portrait of Mario Kempes

Birthday profile

Mario Kempes

Mario Kempes, Argentinian footballer and manager

Born
July 15, 1954
Age in 2026
72
Zodiac sign
Cancer
Birth year
1954

About Mario Kempes

Mario Alberto Kempes (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈmaɾjo alˈβeɾto ˈkempes]; born 15 July 1954) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker or attacking midfielder. A prolific goalscorer, he finished as La Liga's top goalscorer twice with Valencia where he amassed 116 goals in 184 league games. He is regarded as one of the greatest strikers of all time. At international level, Kempes was the focal point of Argentina's 1978 FIFA World Cup win where he scored twice in the final and received the Golden Boot as top goalscorer. He also won the Golden Ball for the player of the tournament, making him one of only three players to have won all three awards at a single World Cup, along with Garrincha in 1962 and Paolo Rossi in 1982. Kempes won South American Footballer of the Year, Onze d'Or European Footballer of the Year and World Cup Golden Ball in 1978. In 2004, he was named as one of the Top 125 greatest living footballers as part of FIFA's 100th anniversary celebration. Kempes was nicknamed El Toro and El Matador. During his club career he won 43 caps for Argentina and scored 20 times.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Mario Kempes timeline

  1. He also won the Golden Ball for the player of the tournament, making him one of only three players to have won all three awards at a single World Cup, along with Garrincha in 1962 and Paolo Rossi in 1982.
  2. Kempes won South American Footballer of the Year, Onze d'Or European Footballer of the Year and World Cup Golden Ball in 1978.

The world when Mario Kempes was born

Mario Kempes was born in 1954. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1954

  • #1 song"Sh-Boom" – The Crew-Cuts
  • Top movieOn the Waterfront
  • Top TV showI Love Lucy
  • Best-selling bookLord of the Flies – William Golding

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentRoger Bannister breaks the 4-minute mile
  • Top headlineSupreme Court rules school segregation unconstitutional
  • Technology milestoneFirst nuclear power plant begins operation (USSR)
  • Defining fadRock and roll emerges
  • Notable inventionNonstick pan (Tefal)
  • World population2.72 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderDwight D. Eisenhower
  • Sports championNew York Giants (World Series)
  • Also wonMinneapolis Lakers (NBA)
  • U.S. population162.0M

1954 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Mario Kempes's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19542026
Gas$0.29$3.45/gal
Average home$10,250$435,000
Average income$5,800$67,500
Minimum wage$0.75$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.49$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population162.0M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Transfermarkt, WorldFootball.net. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.