George Eastham

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

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.

A skilful midfielder/inside forward, he was signed by Newcastle United in 1956, and made his debut against Luton Town on 6 October 1956, in a match which finished 2–2.

He spent four seasons with the Magpies and during his time there he won caps for the Football League and the England U23 side.

He played 125 games for Newcastle, scoring 34 goals, their best finish during this time being eighth in 1959–60.

However, during his time at Newcastle United Eastham fell out with the club, with Eastham disputing whether the house the club had supplied him was habitable, the unsatisfactory secondary job that the club had arranged (as maximum wage rules at the time forbade clubs from paying the market rate) and their attempts to stop him playing for the England U23 team.

With his contract due to expire soon, in 1959, Eastham refused to sign a new one and requested a transfer.

However, Newcastle refused to let Eastham go.

At the time, clubs operated a system known as retain-and-transfer, which meant that teams could keep a player's registration (thus preventing them from moving) while refusing to pay them if they had requested a transfer.

As Eastham later recounted:

Our contract could bind us to a club for life.

Most people called it the "slavery contract".

We had virtually no rights at all.

It was often the case that the guy on the terrace not only earned more than us – though there's nothing wrong with that – he had more freedom of movement than us.

People in business or teaching were able to hand in their notice and move on.

We weren't. That was wrong.

Unable to leave, Eastham went on strike at the end of the 1959–60 season, moving south to work for an old family friend, Ernie Clay (who later became chairman of Fulham), selling cork in Guildford, Surrey, a venture which earned him more money than his Newcastle contract paid.

Finally in October 1960 Newcastle relented and sold Eastham to Arsenal for £47,500.

Eastham made his Arsenal debut against Bolton Wanderers on 10 December 1960, and scored twice as Arsenal won 5–1.

Later on that same season, he scored the equaliser against his former club Newcastle United at St James' Park, in a 3–3 draw, during which he was called "Judas" and pelted with apples.

Throughout his six seasons at Arsenal, he was a regular for the side; though not a prolific goalscorer, Eastham was one of the most talented players of what was an average Arsenal side at the time; under George Swindin and Billy Wright, Arsenal never finished higher than 7th during his time there.

Eastham's time at Arsenal was often turbulent; as well as the court case against Newcastle United, he fell out with Arsenal after asking for a pay rise following the maximum wage's abolishment in 1961 (but eventually Arsenal relented and met his demands), and he asked for a transfer after being replaced by Joe Baker up front at the start of the 1962–63 season.

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.

However, Eastham considered the point worth fighting for, and backed by the Professional Footballers' Association (who provided £15,000 to pay for Eastham's legal fees), he took the club to the High Court in 1963.

In the case, Eastham v. Newcastle United [1964] Ch.

413, Eastham argued that it was an unfair restraint of trade, and that Newcastle owed him £400 in unpaid wages and £650 in unpaid bonuses.

The judge, Mr Justice Wilberforce, ruled partly in Eastham's favour, stating that the retain-and-transfer system was unreasonable, although he ruled that as Eastham had refused to play for Newcastle, that any payment of wages for the disputed period was at Newcastle's discretion.

As a result, although Eastham did not gain personally, he succeeded in reforming the British transfer market.

The "retain" element of retain-and-transfer was greatly reduced, providing fairer terms for players looking to re-sign for their clubs, and setting up a transfer tribunal for disputes.

He is known for playing for Newcastle United, Arsenal and Stoke City, as well as a member of England's 1966 World Cup-winning squad.

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 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.

Eastham was part of a footballing family – his father, George Eastham Sr.., was an England international who played for Bolton Wanderers and Blackpool, while his uncle Harry Eastham played for Liverpool and Accrington Stanley.

In his youth he was a useful cricketer, playing in the same Blackpool CC team as his future fellow international, Jimmy Armfield.

Eastham junior first played for Northern Irish club Ards, where his father was player-manager, and the two played together on the pitch.