Mário Jorge joined his first basketball club, Clube Central de Niterói, at the age of 15, but eventually found his home on the prestigious team of Clube de Regatas do Flamengo. His first major international tournament was the 1951 Pan American Games, where Brazil won the bronze medal. His next stop was the 1952 Helsinki Games, where Brazil was eliminated in round two and placed sixth overall after winning their classification match against France. Mário Jorge played in all seven of the team’s matches and carried the national flag in the Opening Ceremony. In 1954, he won a silver medal at the Basketball World Cup, and he continued to play domestically until 1960. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he was the head of several of Brazil’s basketball delegations to international tournaments, and in 2007 he helped carry the torch prior to the commencement of that year’s Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro. By career, he served in the Brazilian Navy.
Brazil