George Eastham
July 4, 1963: The Football League's maximum wage is legally overturned, thanks to the efforts of George Eastham and Jimmy Hill.
George Edward Eastham was born on September 23, 1936 in Blackpool, Lancashire, England. The son and nephew of professional soccer players, the forward starred for North-East club Newcastle United, starting in 1956. But he is best known for challenging English football's version of what was known as the reserve clause in baseball, and also the maximum wage.
Hill had starred as a midfielder at West London team Fulham F.C., and later became Chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association, the players' union. At the time of the case, Hill was the manager of Midlands team Coventry City. Despite now managing a team, he recognized that the players and the managers had a common "enemy" in the team owners.
Jimmy Hill
The maximum wage was £20 per week -- with inflation, equivalent to about £322 in 2022, or, with the current exchange rate, about $421. That's not even enough to rent your own apartment, not in the suburbs of New York or London, let alone in either city.
And Eastham fell out with Newcastle management, and wanted to be sold, but they didn't want to sell. As with baseball's reserve clause, English soccer's version, known as "retain-and-transfer," bound a player to a team for life unless the club wanted to sell, and NUFC didn't. They didn't care if he was happy: The wanted him available and compliant.
Like Curt Flood would in baseball a decade later, Eastham compared it to slavery:
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.
Eastham went on strike at the end of the 1959-60 season, moving south to work for an old family friend, 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 North London team Arsenal F.C. for £47,500, an enormous sum for the time.
But Eastham had only gotten one thing he wanted, and considered the rest, freedom of movement and the abolition of the maximum wage, worth fighting for. Hill convinced the PFA to provide £15,000 to pay for Eastham's legal fees, and he took NUFC to the High Court.
In Eastham v. Newcastle United, Eastham argued that retain-and-transfer was an unfair restraint of trade, and that Newcastle owed him £400 in unpaid wages and £650 in unpaid bonuses. The judge, Richard Wilberforce, later a Baron, ruled that, since Eastham had gone on strike, he was not entitled to the money. So Eastham did not gain personally, other than getting the transfer he wanted, which he already had.
But Mr Justice Wilberforce ruled that the retain-and-transfer system was unreasonable, and struck it down. Eastham had won. This makes him English soccer's Curt Flood and its Andy Messersmith.
Eastham starred for Arsenal for 6 years, although it was a down period for the team. He, Joe Baker, Geoff Strong and Alan Skirton formed a great attack, but they had a poor defense. It would take a complete rebuilding process for Arsenal to become a power again.
Eastham was the only Arsenal player named to the England team that won the 1966 World Cup on home soil, although he didn't play in the tournament. He did play for England in the 1962 World Cup. After the '66 edition, he was sold to Staffordshire club Stoke City, and, along with fellow '66 England hero Gordon Banks in goal, helped the club win their only major trophy in their 159-year history, the 1972 League Cup.
He later moved to South Africa, set up a sportswear business, and defied the apartheid government by teaching the game to black kids. He became the chairman of the South African Arsenal Supporters' Club. As of July 4, 2022, he is still alive.
Hill went into broadcasting, working on ITV's The Big Match from its 1968 premiere until 1973, moving to the BBC for Match of the Day until 1988. He died in 2015.
UPDATE: George Eastham died in 2024.
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July 4, 1963 was a Thursday. This was also the day the film The Great Escape premiered. I have a separate entry for that event.
Baseball player José Oquendo was born. Obviously, the 4th of July is not a holiday in Britain, but it is one in America, traditionally one on which baseball teams played doubleheaders:
* The New York Yankees split with the Chicago White Sox at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees won the opener, 9-1. Whitey Ford, who would have won the American League's Cy Young Award had it not then been a both-Leagues award, outpitched Gary Peters, who went on to be named the AL's Rookie of the Year. Roger Maris and Elston Howard hit home runs.
The White Sox won the nightcap, 4-2. Juan Pizarro outpitched Bill Stafford. Mickey Mantle was injured, and did not play in either game. Nor did Yogi Berra, who was in his last full season as a player.
* The New York Mets were swept by the Chicago Cubs, 2-1 and 3-0 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The only Met run in the 1st game came on a home run by Jim Hickman, who would be a part of the Cubs' 1969 "September Swoon." Other than that, Glen Hobbie allowed only 1 hit, a single by Ron Hunt. Paul Toth pitched a 3-hit shutout in the 2nd game. Over the 2 games, Ernie Banks went 1-for-6 with a walk.
* The Philadelphia Phillies swept the Pittsburgh Pirates, 1-0 and 5-1 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. Don Demeter singled pitcher Art Mahaffey home with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning of the 1st game. Mahaffey allowed only 2 hits over 10 innings, a triple to Roberto Clemente and a single to Donn Clendenon. He outpitched Bob Friend, who also went the extra distance.
In the 2nd game, Ryne Duren, previously known as a star Yankee reliever, went the distance for the win. The only run the Pirates scored was on a home run by Clemente.
* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Los Angeles Angels in a single game, 7-4 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Brooks Robinson went 2-for-5.
* The Washington Senators swept the Kansas City Athletics, 2-1 and 3-2 at District of Columbia Stadium in Washington. (D.C. Stadium was renamed Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in 1969.)
* The Cleveland Indians swept the Boston Red Sox, 4-3 and 7-5 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Jerry Kindall won the 1st game with a home run in the bottom of the 14th inning. Carl Yastrzemski went 0-for-4 with 2 walks, then came back in the 2nd game to go 3-for-4 with a home run, a walk, and 2 RBIs.
* The Detroit Tigers swept the Minnesota Twins, 5-3 and 3-1 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Over the 2 games, Al Kaline went 3-for-8, and Harmon Killebrew went 1-for-5 with a walk.
* The Houston Colt .45s swept the Cincinnati Reds, 5-2 and 6-2 at Colt Stadium in Houston. Over the 2 games, Pete Rose, who was named National League Rookie of the Year, went 2-for-9. But Frank Robinson did not play. (The Colts became the Houston Astros in 1965.)
* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 10-7 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The Dodgers scored 8 runs in the bottom of the 6th inning. Stan Musial, in his last season, went 2-for-5.
* And the Milwaukee Braves beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-3 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Hank Aaron went 3-for-5 with a home run and 2 RBIs. Willie Mays went 4-for-5, and Willie McCovey hit a home run.
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