Leslie Hamilton Johnston (16 August 1920 – 19 October 2001) was a Scottish footballer who played for Clydebank Juniors, Clyde, Hibernian, Celtic, Stoke City, Shrewsbury Town and the Scotland national team.[2]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Leslie Hamilton Johnston[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 16 August 1920[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Glasgow, Scotland[2] | ||
| Date of death | 19 October 2001 (aged 81)[2] | ||
| Place of death | Newcastle-under-Lyme, England | ||
| Position(s) | Inside forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Clydebank Juniors | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1941–1947 | Clyde | 24 | (15) |
| 1947 | Hibernian | 9 | (8) |
| 1947–1948 | Clyde | 30 | (17) |
| 1948–1949 | Celtic | 23 | (8) |
| 1949–1953 | Stoke City | 88 | (22) |
| 1953–1954 | Shrewsbury Town | 16 | (6) |
| Total | 190 | (76) | |
| International career | |||
| 1945 | Scotland (wartime) | 1 | (1) |
| 1948 | Scotland | 2 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career
editJohnston was born in Glasgow. He moved to Clyde from Clydebank Juniors in December 1941 before joining Hibernian in February 1947 for £10,000, a then Scottish football transfer record. However, he rejoined Clyde just eight months later for the same transfer fee. He joined Celtic the following year for £12,000, another Scottish transfer record. He remained with Celtic for just one year, before moving to English club Stoke City for £9,000.[2] He struggled in his first season at the Victoria Ground scoring just five goals in 1949–50.[2] He improved in 1950–51 scoring 13 goals but again struggled to find his form and missed a lot a games due to injury. He was released in May 1953 and he went to play for Shrewsbury Town.[2]
International career
editDuring his second spell at Clyde, Johnston earned two caps for Scotland. He scored in the second of his caps, a 2–1 defeat to Switzerland in May 1948. He had also played for Scotland in one wartime International.[3]
Career statistics
editClub
editSource:[4]
| Club | Season | Division | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Clyde | 1946–47[5] | Scottish First Division | 24 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 29 | 18 |
| 1947–48[6] | Scottish First Division | 23 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 14 | |
| 1948–49[7] | Scottish First Division | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 3 | |
| Total | 54 | 32 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 63 | 35 | ||
| Hibernian | 1946–47 | Scottish First Division | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
| 1947–48 | Scottish First Division | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 9 | |
| Total | 9 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 14 | 12 | ||
| Celtic | 1948–49 | Scottish First Division | 23 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 8 |
| 1949–50 | Scottish First Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 24 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 29 | 8 | ||
| Stoke City | 1949–50 | First Division | 27 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | 28 | 5 | |
| 1950–51 | First Division | 38 | 13 | 3 | 0 | — | 41 | 13 | ||
| 1951–52 | First Division | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | ||
| 1952–53 | First Division | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | 14 | 4 | ||
| Total | 88 | 22 | 4 | 0 | — | 92 | 22 | |||
| Shrewsbury Town | 1953–54 | Third Division South | 16 | 6 | 1 | 0 | — | 17 | 6 | |
| Career Total | 191 | 76 | 8 | 1 | 16 | 6 | 215 | 83 | ||
International
editSource:[8]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 1948 | 2 | 1 |
| Total | 2 | 1 | |
Honours
edit- Clyde
References
edit- ^ "Les Johnston". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
- ^ "Leslie Hamilton Johnston". www.londonhearts.com. London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
- ^ Leslie Johnston at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
- ^ "1946 - 1947 Fixtures". Clyde FC. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
- ^ "1947 - 1948 Fixtures". Clyde FC. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
- ^ "1948 - 1949 Fixtures". Clyde FC. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
- ^ Johnston, Les at National-Football-Teams.com
- ^ "GC Final: Third Lanark 1 v 2 Clyde". Clyde FC. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
External links
edit- Leslie Johnston at the Scottish Football Association
- Les Johnston at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database
