Leslie Johnston

Not to be confused with Leslie Johnson.

Leslie Johnston
Personal information
Full name Leslie Hamilton Johnston[1]
Date of birth (1920-08-16)16 August 1920[2]
Place of birth Glasgow, Scotland[2]
Date of death 19 October 2001(2001-10-19) (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

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]

Club career

Johnston 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

During 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

Club

Source:[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

Source:[8]

National team Year Apps Goals
Scotland 1948 2 1
Total 2 1

Honours

Clyde

References

  1. ^ "Les Johnston". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
  3. ^ "Leslie Hamilton Johnston". www.londonhearts.com. London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  4. ^ Leslie Johnston at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  5. ^ "1946 - 1947 Fixtures". Clyde FC. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  6. ^ "1947 - 1948 Fixtures". Clyde FC. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  7. ^ "1948 - 1949 Fixtures". Clyde FC. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  8. ^ Johnston, Les at National-Football-Teams.com
  9. ^ "GC Final: Third Lanark 1 v 2 Clyde". Clyde FC. Retrieved 31 August 2022.