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LONDON — Former England midfielder George Eastham, a member of the country's 1966 World Cup winning squad who was better known for his social activism, has died. He was 88. Soccer club Stoke City announced Eastham's death late Friday. It did not specify a cause of death. Eastham made 19 appearances for England though the last of those games was before the 1966 World Cup. He did not feature at the tournament itself. Eastman was better known for his role in ending the so-called "slavery rule," by which a club could refuse to allow a player's transfer even if his contract with the club had expired. Eastman finished his playing career in South Africa where he became a vocal critic of apartheid.
