George Eastham, who was a member of England's 1966 World Cup winning team, has died aged 88.
Eastham did not play in England's 1966 success on home soil, but the player was part of Sir Alf Ramsey's side that lifted the World Cup for the first time in the country's history.
Eastham, who was born in Blackpool, spent most of his career at Newcastle, Arsenal and Stoke and left a wide-ranging legacy as the man who fought against the 'contracts of slavery'.
Eastham was involved in a court case in 1963 which improved players' freedom of transfer between clubs, ultimately reforming the British transfer market.
It was at Stoke that Eastham claimed his only piece of club silverware, scoring the winner in a 2-1 League Cup final victory over Chelsea in 1972 to reach the top flight give Stoke their cup.
“The Stoke City Football Club family is deeply saddened by the passing of club legend George Eastham OBE at the age of 88,” the former club said in announcing his death on their official website.
“George was signed by the Potters for a fee of £35,000 shortly after being part of England's 1966 World Cup winning team.
“He went on to represent the club for eight seasons in the top division of the English game and was an FA Cup semi-finalist twice in red and white.
“He is perhaps best remembered as the man who won the 1972 League Cup with his goal in a 2-1 win over Chelsea at Wembley.
“The Potters will wear black armbands for the game against Sheffield Wednesday (Saturday) as a mark of respect.
“Our thoughts are with George's family and friends at this difficult time.”
Stoke also plan to pay tribute to Eastham at their home game against Leeds on Boxing Day.
Eastham's father, George Senior, also played for England, winning one cap. Eastham won 19 caps for his country between 1963 and 1966.
After playing for Ards in Northern Ireland, Eastham made 124 and 207 league appearances for Newcastle and Arsenal respectively before moving to the Potteries.
Eastham made 194 league appearances for Stoke and was awarded an OBE for his services to football shortly before his retirement in 1974.
He went on to be appointed as assistant to Tony Waddington before becoming manager of Stoke himself between March 1977 and January 1978.
