Profile of George Edward Eastham on Famous Like Me

George Edward Eastham OBE (born September 23, 1936) is an English former footballer.

Eastham was born in Blackpool, Lancashire, but first played for Northern Irish club Ards under his father George R. Eastham, before being signed by Newcastle United in 1956. A skilful midfielder/inside forward, he spent four seasons with the Magpies, but looking to go elsewhere, in December 1959 he refused to sign a new contract. Newcastle refused to let Eastham go, retaining his player registration. Eastham took the club to the High Court, arguing that it was an unfair restraint of trade; the judge ruled in Eastham's favour, and as a result the British transfer market underwent significant reform.

In the meantime, Eastham had joined Arsenal, making his debut against Bolton Wanderers in December 1960, scoring twice. Eastham joined the England squad for the 1962 World Cup as an uncapped player, but did not play in the tournament; his England debut finally came in May 1963, against Brazil. Eastham was also part of the 1966 World Cup squad, but did not play a single minute of England's win in the tournament. In all he won 19 caps for his country, scoring twice.

By 1966 he had become Arsenal captain, but Arsenal's declining form under Billy Wright (the club finished 14th in 1965-66) had left Eastham unhappy; he joined Stoke City in August 1966, having scored 41 goals in 223 matches for the Gunners. Eastham spent the next eight seasons at Stoke, and won the League Cup in 1972, scoring the winning goal in the final against Chelsea. He was awarded the OBE in 1973.

After retiring as a player, he returned to manage Stoke for ten months between 1977 and 1978. After that he left football completely, and later emigrated to South Africa.

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