England 1966 World Cup team member George Eastham dies at 88
George Eastham, a member of England’s 1966 World Cup-winning team, has died at the age of 88.
The forward made 19 international appearances and, when he was part of manager Sir Alf Ramsey’s squad at the World Cup 58 years ago, he did not play as England won it for the only time in their history.
Eastham played for Newcastle United and Arsenal before joining Stoke for £35,000 shortly after the 1966 World Cup.
He played 194 times for the Potters and scored the winner for them in the 1972 League Cup Final when they beat Chelsea 2–1 at Wembley.
Eastham was also involved in a 1963 court case, external Which led to a major reform of the British transfer market that improved the freedom of players to move between clubs, and in 1973 he was awarded an OBE for his services to football.
He retired from the game in 1974 and then served as Stoke manager from March 1977 to January 1978.
stoke said, external He was deeply saddened by the passing of “club legend” Eastham and will wear black armbands for their game at Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday (12:30 GMT).
They also plan to pay tribute to Eastham at their home match against Leeds United on 26 December.
“Our thoughts are with George’s family and friends at this difficult time,” the club said.
