General |
George Eastham | ||
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Personal information | ||
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Full name: | George Edward Eastham | |
Date of birth: | 23 September 1936 | |
Place of birth: | Blackpool, ![]() | |
Date of death: | 20 December 2024 | (aged 88)|
Place of death: | ![]() | |
Height: | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | |
Playing position: | Inside forward, Midfielder | |
Senior clubs | ||
Years | Club | App (Gls) |
1953–1956 1956–1960 1960–1966 1966–1973 1974–1976 Total |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
124 (29) 207 (41) 194 (4) 525 (74) |
National team | ||
1963–1966 | ![]() |
19 (2) |
Teams managed | ||
1977–1978 | ![]() |
George Edward Eastham, OBE (born 23 September 1936–20 December 2024) was an English former footballer. He is known for playing for Newcastle United, Arsenal and Stoke City, as well as a non-playing member of England's 1966 World Cup-winning squad. However, he is also notable for his involvement in a 1963 court case which proved a landmark in improving players' freedom to move between clubs.
Eastham began his career with Northern Irish side Ards before moving back to England with Newcastle United in 1956. He became a fine Inside forward for the "Magpies" but then shocked the club by demanding a move away which Newcastle rejected. Eastham took his case to the courts and won his case moving to Arsenal. Eastham spent six seasons at Highbury making 223 appearances scoring 41 goals for the "Gunners" before joining Stoke City in 1966. His experience helped Stoke enjoy a successful spell in the early 1970s and Eastham he scored the winning goal in the 1972 League Cup Final. He also spent time coaching in South Africa playing for Hellenic before returning to Stoke to become assistant manager to Tony Waddington. When Waddington resigned in March 1977 Eastham was appointed manager but was unable to prevent Stoke being relegated in 1976–77 and after failing to mount a promotion challenge the following season Eastham was sacked in January 1978. He then returned to coach in South Africa.
Honours[]
Clubs[]
- Stoke City
- Football League Cup: 1971–72
Country[]
- England
Individual[]
- PFA Merit Award 1976
Stoke City Football Club - Managers |
Slaney (1874–83) • Cox (1883–84) • Lockett (1884–90) • Bradshaw (1890–92) • Reeves (1892–95) • Rowley (1895–97) • Austerberry (1897–1908) • A. Barker (1908–14) • Hodge (1914–15) • Schofield (1915–19) • Shallcross (1919–23) • Rutherford (1923) • Mather (1923–35) • McGrory (1935–52) • Taylor (1952–60) • Waddington (1960–77) • Eastham (1977–78) • A'Court (1978) • Durban (1978–81) • R. Barker (1981–83) • Asprey (1983–85) • Lacey (1985) • Mills (1985–89) • Ball (1989–91) • Paddon (1991) • Macari (1991–93) • Jordan (1993–94) • Hartford (1994) • Macari (1994–97) • Bates (1997–98) • Kamara (1998) • Durban (1998) • Little (1998–99) • Megson (1999) • Thordarson (1999–2002) • Cotterill (2002) • Kevan (2002) • Pulis (2002–05) • Boskamp (2005–06) • Pulis (2006–13) • Hughes (2013–18) • Niedzwiecki (2018c) • Lambert (2018) • Rowett (2018–19) • Jones (2019) • Delapc (2019) • O'Neill (2019–22) • Holdenc (2022) • Neil (2022–23) • Schumacher (2023–24) • Morris & Shawcrossc (2024) • Pèlach (2024) • Shawcross c (2024–) |
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England – 1962 FIFA World Cup |
1. Springett
2. Armfield
3. Wilson
4. Robson
5. Swan
6. Flowers
7. Connelly
8. Greaves
9. Hitchens
10. Haynes
11. Charlton
12. Hodgkinson
13. Kevan
14. Anderson
15. Norman
16. Moore
17. Douglas
18. Hunt
19. Peacock
20. Eastham
21. Howe
22. Banks
Manager: |
England – 1966 FIFA World Cup – Winners |
1. Banks
2. Cohen
3. Wilson
4. Stiles
5. J. Charlton
6. Moore
7. Ball
8. Greaves
9. B. Charlton
10. Hurst
11. Connelly
12. Springett
13. Bonetti
14. Armfield
15. Byrne
16. Peters
17. Flowers
18. Hunter
19. Paine
20. Callaghan
21. Hunt
22. Eastham
Manager: |