Eastham was a pupil of the Northern Irish football club Ards, where his father worked as the head coach. Having spent three years in this club, the young midfielder became interested in “Newcastle”. He debuted for the team on October 6, 1956 in a match against Luton. During four seasons as part of the “forty”, George played 124 matches and scored 29 goals.
In December 1960, he made his debut for the London “Arsenal”. In the first match, Eastham scored twice against Bolton. Soon he had to play against his former team – “Newcastle”. In that match, George scored again, he did it at St. James Park. Angry fans of “magpies” threw apples at him and shouted “Judas”.
In 1966, Eastham became the world champion as part of the England team, although he received his medal only in 2009. This was due to the rules of the tournament: then medals were awarded only to those players who participated in the final match, and Eastham missed it due to injury.
After the World Cup, the star midfielder left Arsenal and moved to Stoke City. With this club, he won the English League Cup, scoring the winning goal in the final against Chelsea.
Having completed his playing career, George remained in the coaching staff of Stoke City. In 1977, he became the head coach of the team, but in the first season the club was relegated from the First Division to the Second. After that, Eastham left his position and ended his coaching career.
Source: sport.ua