 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Robert Johnstone[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1929-09-07)7 September 1929 | ||
| Place of birth | Selkirk, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 22 August 2001(2001-08-22) (aged 71) | ||
| Place of death | Selkirk, Scotland | ||
| Position | Inside forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1945–1946 | Newtongrange Star | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1946 | Selkirk | ||
| 1946–1955 | Hibernian | 168 | (88) |
| 1955–1959 | Manchester City | 124 | (42) |
| 1959–1961 | Hibernian | 31 | (17) |
| 1961–1965 | Oldham Athletic | 143 | (36) |
| 1965 | Witton Albion | 0 | (0) |
| Total | 466 | (183) | |
| International career | |||
| 1951–1956 | Scotland | 17 | (10) |
| 1951–1954 | Scottish Football League XI | 6 | (1) |
| 1955[2] | Scotland A vs B trial | 1 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Robert Johnstone (7 September 1929 – 22 August 2001) was a Scottishfootballer who played forSelkirk,Hibernian,Manchester City,Oldham Athletic andWitton Albion. Johnstone also representedScotland and theScottish League.
Johnstone is most remembered as one of theFamous Five forward line (Smith, Johnstone,Reilly,Turnbull andOrmond) forHibernian in the late 1940s and early 1950s. He joinedManchester City in 1955, becoming the first player to score in successiveFA Cup Finals atWembley, in1955 and1956.[3] After a short return to Hibs he also played forOldham Athletic.
He won 17 caps forScotland.
Born on 7 September 1929 at 11 Cannon Street, Selkirk, to Elizabeth and George 'Hopey' Johnstone. Bobby was born into a footballing family in a rugby playing town. His father Hopey was described as a "hard as teak" centre-half and once declined a trial forGlasgow Rangers, preferring instead to sign for professional Border side,Peebles Rovers. Hopey who stood over six foot tall, won Border Cup medals for Selkirk in 1931 and 1932. Bobby's great uncle 'Geordie 'was in the team that won Selkirk's first ever trophy, the 1895 Border Cup.At the age of four Johnstone contracted diphtheria which required a tracheotomy in order to stabilize his condition and was confined to his bed for around two months.Johnstone went to school at Philiphaugh until the age of 11, then Knowepark in Selkirk where he won a prize in English. The Johnstone family moved to the nearby newly built no. 2 Linglie Road in 1943 and shortly after at the age of 14, Bobby became an apprentice painter with local firm Nichol's. It was around this time that he started to draw attention playing in the then popular five-a-side tournaments against players almost twice his age.[4]
With Selkirk's pre-World War II side depleted due to retirement and those like Sandy Adamson who were killed in thw war, the club turned to the town's youth to restart football in peace time. Making a name for himself with local Parkvale Rovers and Army Cadet football was a young Bobby Johnstone. In October 1946, in front of a 1,500 crowd, a Selkirk team including Johnstone defeatedQueen of the South which featured future Scottish InternationalistBilly Houliston on the Toll Field. Johnstone also featured in the side which lost out to professionalGala Fairydean in the East of Scotland Cup Final. Later in 1946, both Bobby Johnstone and Eck Piercy were signed for Hibernian, with the promise of a friendly game at Ettrick Park being the transfer fee. The deal was honoured in October 1947 in front of 2,000 spectators with Johnstone being given permission to play for Selkirk one last time.[5]
Bobby Johnstone, known to his mates as 'Nicker', signed for Hibs in 1946 from Selkirk and had two spells with them. Having signed for Hibs, Johnstone received rave reviews while playing for the reserves and was given his first chance in the first team in April 1949, when they played a friendly againstNithsdale Wanderers atSanquhar. Hibs'Famous Five forward line were given their collective debut in that game.
However, at the start of the1949–50 season in August it wasBobby Combe in possession of the jersey. His big chance came in October after Hibs half backs got the blame for losing toDunfermline in theLeague Cup semi final atTynecastle. The entire half back line were dropped and Johnstone was given his chance with Combe moved to half back. Therefore, the Famous Five made their collective competitive debut on 15 October 1949 againstQueen of the South, with Hibs winning 2–0.[6]
Johnstone picked up Scottish League winners medals in1951 and1952. He also played in a Scottish League Cup final and ended league runners-up in the seasons bookending the double league win.
Johnstone was the first of Hibs' famous five to leave Hibs when he transferred in March 1955.
He joinedManchester City for the hefty sum of £22,000.[7] Johnstone was the only one of the Famous Five to play in England. He scored in back-to-backFA Cup Finals for Manchester City, losing in1955 toNewcastle United and winning in1956 againstBirmingham City. Johnstone was the first player to score in consecutive FA Cup Finals at Wembley. He played alongside future Hibs managerDave Ewing in both finals.
Johnstone returned to Hibs in 1959 for £6,000. Johnstone is remembered most for his first spell with Hibs, yet he inspired them to a couple of incredible wins on his return, even though he had put on a few pounds and was a little less mobile. However, the brain had not slowed down any and his prompting enabled the team to score 10 goals at Firhill againstPartick Thistle and another 11 at Broomfield againstAirdrie.
After his second spell with Hibs he went south again to joinOldham Athletic and is widely regarded as one of their greatest ever players.
Bernard Halford was assistant secretary in the early 1960s and recalled, "He transformed the club, no doubt about that. He had the crowds flocking down Sheepfoot Lane, even though Athletic had dropped into the Fourth Division. I think it was the only period in my life when I regularly told lies. On match days the phone never stopped ringing. 'Is Johnstone playing?' Bobby might have been sitting in my office with his ankle in plaster, but I had to say he was playing, otherwise the fans wouldn't have turned up. It really was as cut and dried as that."
In the summer of 1965, some 19 years after his senior career had started, Johnstone retired from playing professional football.
Of his seventeen international caps, probably the most memorable was scoring on his debut, a 3–2 win againstEngland atWembley in which Lawrie Reilly also scored. From Scotland's 22-man1954 World Cup squad, Scotland decided to take only 13 of the 22 to the finals. Johnstone was in the 13 but withdrew through injury. Staying at home on reserve were the likes ofBobby Combe andJimmy Binning.George Hamilton was also on reserve but travelled after Johnstone's withdrawal.
Johnstone also collected international goals againstNorthern Ireland,Wales,Sweden andFinland. As well as winning 17 international caps forScotland, Johnstone also represented theScottish League on 6 occasions.[8] He also played for aGreat Britain team against a "Rest of Europe" side in August 1955, a match played to commemorate the 75th year of theIrish Football Association.[9]
He was survived by his daughter Nicola and granddaughter Caroline.
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 1951 | 4 | 3 |
| 1952 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1953 | 3 | 2 | |
| 1954 | 5 | 3 | |
| 1955 | 3 | 2 | |
| 1956 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 17 | 10 | |
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 April 1951 | Wembley Stadium, London |  England | 1–1 | 3–2 | Home International |
| 2 | 6 October 1951 | Windsor Park,Belfast |  Northern Ireland | 2–0 | 3–0 | Home International |
| 3 | 6 October 1951 | Windsor Park,Belfast | Northern Ireland | 3–0 | 3–0 | Home International |
| 4 | 6 May 1953 | Hampden Park, Glasgow |  Sweden | 1–1 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 5 | 4 November 1953 | Hampden Park, Glasgow |  Wales | 2–0 | 3–3 | Home International and1954 World Cup Qualifier |
| 6 | 25 May 1954 | Olympiastadion, Helsinki |  Finland | 2–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 7 | 3 November 1954 | Hampden Park, Glasgow | Northern Ireland | 2–2 | 2–2 | Home International |
| 8 | 8 December 1954 | Hampden Park, Glasgow |  Hungary | 2–3 | 2–4 | Friendly |
| 9 | 9 November 1955 | Hampden Park, Glasgow | Wales | 1–0 | 2–0 | Home International |
| 10 | 9 November 1955 | Hampden Park, Glasgow | Wales | 2–0 | 2–0 | Home International |
Hibernian
Manchester City
Individual
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