He started covering American sports for British publications in 1961, when his feature on Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle’s pursuit of Babe Ruth's 60-home run record appeared in The Observer.
In 1964, Gardner left the medical magazine and spent two years in Italy before returning to New York, where he discovered a sudden American interest in pro soccer.
He also did commentary for NBC (1986 World Cup), CBS (NASL) and ESPN (college), and has been a film producer and was the scriptwriter and soccer adviser for the award-winning instructional series Pele: The Master and His Method in 1973.
Gardner is well known for his columns criticizing the influences on the game [5]—especially business and coaching—that he sees as threats to the beauty of soccer and its fundamental values as entertainment.
FIFA also adopted his suggestions on how refs deliver second yellow cards, requiring numbers on the front of jerseys, and clarifying in its rulebook the ejection of coaches.
He has long been a proponent of the Latin[6][7] style of play and an unrelenting critic of the United States' historic neglect of Hispanic talent.