| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Joseph Edouard Gaetjens | ||
| Date of birth | March 19, 1924 | ||
| Place of birth | Port-au-Prince, Haiti | ||
| Date of death | July 10, 1964 (aged 40) | ||
| Place of death | Port-au-Prince, Haiti | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Center forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1938–1947 | Etoile Haïtienne | ||
| 1947–1950 | Brookhattan | 64 | (42) |
| 1951–1952 | Racing Club de Paris | 4 | (2) |
| 1952–1953 | Olympique Alès | 15 | (2) |
| 1953–1957 | Etoile Haïtienne | ||
| International career | |||
| 1944–1953 | Haiti | 3 | (0) |
| 1950 | United States | 3 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Joseph Edouard Gaetjens (/ˈɡeɪdʒɛnz/ GAY-jenz;[1] March 19, 1924 – July 10, 1964 [presumed]) was a soccer player who played as a center forward. Born in Haiti, he represented its national team before and after playing for the United States team in the 1950 FIFA World Cup, in which he scored the winning goal in the 1–0 upset of England.
Gaetjens won his home national championship in 1942 and 1944 with top-level Etoile Haïtienne. He then moved to the American Soccer League (ASL) and led all players with 18 goals in 15 games for New York's Brookhattan during the 1949–50 season. He was posthumously inducted into the United States National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1976.
Gaetjens is among the Les 100 Héros de la Coupe du Monde ("100 Heroes of the World Cup"), which included the top 100 World Cup Players from 1930 to 1990, a list drawn up in 1994 by the France Football magazine based exclusively on their performances at World Cup level.