OBITUARY: George Eastham was one of England's boys of 1966 and ended football 'slavery' - today's players owe a debt of gratitude to former Arsenal, Newcastle and Stoke star
OBITUARY: George Eastham was one of England's boys of 1966 and ended football 'slavery' - today's players owe a debt of gratitude to former Arsenal, Newcastle and Stoke star
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Big moments – they are what every footballer wants: to be part of glory and to leave fingerprints on the days that matter. How George Eastham did that. With his short, blond hair and his slender shoulders, he was a beautiful player for Newcastle and Arsenal, one of the boys of that golden summer in 1966 who went onto score the goal at Wembley in 1972 that provided Stoke City with their greatest moment.
![[Eastham went to the High Court to push though a transfer from Newcastle to Arsenal in 1960]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/21/18/93386929-14206629-image-a-29_1734805430537.jpg)
Eastham, a little box of tricks, will forever be associated with magic but it says everything about his remarkable career that winning the World Cup and League Cup are not the most important achievements in a career that spanned three decades. It is not overstating things to say that every footballer who has kicked a ball professionally since 1963 owes a debt of gratitude to Eastham, who passed away on Saturday aged 88. He had plenty of big moments on the pitch but none were bigger than his moment in the High Court.
![[Eastham, who has died aged 88, was a little box of tricks and had a remarkable career]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/21/18/93387093-14206629-image-a-33_1734806376071.jpg)
He triggered a seismic overhaul in the transfer system before Jean-Marc Bosman, who is often regarded as the game’s revolutionary figure, was a twinkle in his father’s eye. Eastham, an activist for change, had the determination to take on the authorities and the courage to see things through.
![[Eastham was a member of the England squad at the 1966 World Cup but did not play]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/21/18/93387147-14206629-image-a-34_1734806571790.jpg)
His legacy was defined by the fallout from a row with Newcastle in 1959. Eastham disputed that the house his club had supplied him with his habitable and the second job they had provided for him was unsatisfactory. There was a rule in place at the time that meant clubs paid a maximum wage of £20.
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