Jimmy Johnstone
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James Connolly Johnstone (30 September 1944 – 13 March 2006) was a Scottish
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
who played as an outside right. Known as "Jinky" for his elusive dribbling style, Johnstone played for
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
for 13 years and was one of the
Lisbon Lions The Lisbon Lions is the nickname given to the Celtic F.C., Celtic team that won the UEFA Champions League, European Cup at the Estádio Nacional in Lisbon, Portugal on 25 May 1967 European Cup Final, 1967, defeating Inter Milan 2–1. Name The ...
, the team that won the 1967 European Cup Final. Johnstone also won nine consecutive Scottish championships. He scored 129 goals for Celtic in 515 appearances and was voted the club's greatest-ever player by fans in 2002. Johnstone also won 23 caps for
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. He finished third in voting for the 1967 Ballon d'Or and was inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame when it was inaugurated in 2004. Rodger Baillie of ''
The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...
'' called Johnstone a "genius who lived by magic and mischief", while Hugh McIlvanney wrote that no other player "besieged opponents with such a complex, concentrated swirl of deceptive manoeuvres or ever conveyed a more exhilarating sense of joy in working wonders with the ball."


Early life and youth career

Johnstone was the youngest of five children born to Matthew and Sarah Johnstone. He grew up in the family home on Old Edinburgh Road in
Viewpark Viewpark is an area in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. Situated immediately north-east of Uddingston (but on the other side of the M74 motorway), Viewpark is west of Bellshill. It has an estimated population of 13,916 in 2016, a figure which also ...
,
North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the north-east of the Glasgow City council area and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs, commuter towns, and villages. It also borders East Dunbartonshire, Falkirk (co ...
, and he was educated at St Columba's primary school in Viewpark and then at St John's secondary school in
Uddingston Uddingston (, ) is a small town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is on the north side of the River Clyde, south-east of Glasgow city centre, and acts as a dormitory suburb for the city. Geography and boundaries Uddingston is located to t ...
.Alt URL
/ref> His footballing ability first came to note at primary school, playing for the St Columba's team that won three trophies in 1953–54. The team at his secondary school, St John's, were less able, but their physical education teacher, Tommy Cassidy, was a friend of Sammy Wilson, who played for
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
at the time and had scored in Celtic's 7–1 win over Rangers in the 1957 Scottish League Cup Final. Cassidy used his connections to get Johnstone a role as ball boy at Celtic. At home, he used to dribble around milk bottles every day in the hallway for hours to perfect his skills. On reading that
Stanley Matthews Sir Stanley Matthews (1 February 1915 – 23 February 2000) was an English Association football, footballer who played as an Forward (association football)#Outside forward, outside right. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the Br ...
used to walk to Blackpool's ground wearing heavy boots to strengthen his leg muscles, Johnstone began wearing pit boots and would sprint and play football in them. He later said that this "probably added about three yards on to my pace." Despite the thrill of being involved with Celtic as a ballboy, Johnstone wanted to play football. As a result, he left Celtic to play for his local Boys Guild team. As well as playing locally, the team travelled down to play Manchester United's boys' team. Johnstone's ability caught the eye of the English giants but, upon his return to Scotland, Celtic scout John Higgins persuaded him to sign for Celtic; He signed youth terms on the same day as left-back Tommy Gemmell, who lived a few miles away and would also have a long association with the club. In order to gain experience, Johnstone was farmed out to junior club Blantyre Celtic.


Club career


Celtic

Johnstone made his first team debut for Celtic on 27 March 1963 in a 6–0 defeat away against
Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...
in the league. His next appearance came a month later, away against Hearts. He was again on the losing side (4–3), but scored his first senior goal. Despite the defeats, Johnstone's performances won him a place in the team for the Scottish Cup Final on 4 May 1963 against Rangers. The young winger turned in a fine performance, helping Celtic to a creditable 1–1 draw with his confident dribbling. He also scored a goal but it was disallowed due to a foul moments earlier by teammate John Hughes. Johnstone was dropped for the replay and Celtic were outclassed by Rangers, who ran out comfortable 3–0 winners. The following season saw Johnstone establish himself as a regular in the side. He played in 25 league games, scoring six goals. He also helped Celtic reach the semi-finals of the
European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...
, scoring against
FC Basel Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss professional Association football, football club based in Basel, in the Basel-Stadt, Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been List of Swiss footba ...
in a 5–0 win at Parkhead in the first round, and then against
MTK Budapest Magyar Testgyakorlók Köre (Hungarian for "Hungarian Circle of Physical Practitioners") is a multi-sports club from Budapest, founded in 1888. It has sections for football, handball, basketball, volleyball, futsal, ice hockey, water polo, cycl ...
in a 3–0 win in the first leg of the semi-final. Celtic, however, lost 4–0 in the return match in Hungary and were knocked out on aggregate. Celtic were struggling throughout the 1960s until
Jock Stein John Stein (5 October 1922 – 10 September 1985) was a Scottish association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. He was the first manager of a club from a Northern European country to win the European Champio ...
arrived at the club in 1965. By this time Johnstone was struggling to hold down a regular spot in the first team. On arrival at Celtic, Stein had doubts about Johnstone, considering him too much of an individual player, to the overall detriment of the team, and he left him out of the team for the 1965 Scottish Cup Final. Johnstone soon won Stein round with his skill, and won his first winner's medal on 23 October 1965 when he played in Celtic's 2–1 win over Rangers in the Scottish League Cup Final. His 32 league appearances and nine goals that season helped Celtic win their first league title in 12 years. Johnstone also helped Celtic reach their second European semi-final, scoring twice against Go Ahead Eagles en route, before losing 2–1 on aggregate to
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in the Cup Winners' Cup. Johnstone was one of the "
Lisbon Lions The Lisbon Lions is the nickname given to the Celtic F.C., Celtic team that won the UEFA Champions League, European Cup at the Estádio Nacional in Lisbon, Portugal on 25 May 1967 European Cup Final, 1967, defeating Inter Milan 2–1. Name The ...
", the team that won the then
European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...
for Celtic in
1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...
. In an early round tie against
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, Johnstone's trickery on the wing saw him dubbed "the Flying Flea" by the French press, while his performances over that season saw him finish third in the European Footballer of the Year award. Two weeks after their European Cup win, Celtic played
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...
on 7 June 1967 in a testimonial match for the now retired Alfredo Di Stefano. In front of over 100,000 fans at the Bernabéu Stadium, the sides engaged in a keenly fought contest that saw Bertie Auld and Real Madrid's Amancio sent off. Di Stefano played for the first 15 minutes, but it was Jimmy Johnstone who stole the show with an exhilarating performance that had even the Spanish supporters chanting "Olé!" throughout the game. Johnstone capped an outstanding performance by playing the pass to Bobby Lennox for the only goal in a 1–0 win for Celtic. Johnstone had a morbid fear of flying, which Jock Stein used to great effect on one occasion. Ahead of the first leg of a European tie against
Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...
at Parkhead in November 1968, Stein told Johnstone that, if Celtic won by four goals, he wouldn't have to travel to
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
for the second leg. Johnstone went on to produce an outstanding performance, scoring twice and providing assists for the other three goals in a 5–1 win. He helped Celtic reach a further European Cup Final in season 1969–70. His performance in the second leg of the semi-final against
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...
at Hampden Park was particularly outstanding, and his mazy run in the second half set up Bobby Murdoch to score with a powerful shot for Celtic's winning goal in a 2–1 victory on the night. Leeds' defender Terry Cooper later quipped "I would love to have kicked Jinky, but I couldn't get near him!"
Billy Bremner William John Bremner (9 December 1942 – 7 December 1997) was a Scottish professional Association football, footballer who played for Leeds United F.C., Leeds United, Hull City A.F.C., Hull City, and the Scotland national football team, Scot ...
described Johnstone's performance as "one of the greatest exhibitions I have ever seen", adding that "Jimmy had one of these games where he was unstoppable." Celtic played
Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Netherlands, Dutch professional association football, football club based in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football league system, Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the ...
in the final but, with Johnstone double-marked at all times, Celtic were unable to perform as they had in the 1967 final. Feyenoord dominated the match and defeated Celtic 2–1 after extra-time. In all, he made 308 League appearances for Celtic, scoring 82 goals. He also played another 207 times for them in the Scottish Cup, League Cup and in Europe, for an overall total of 515 matches. He received further
Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual association football, football award presented by French magazine ''France Football'' since 1956 Ballon d'Or, 1956 to honour the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous season. Conceived ...
nominations in 1968 and 1969 placing 24th and 23rd, respectively.


Later career

He later played for the
San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional association football, soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Origin ...
, Sheffield United,
Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...
, Shelbourne and Elgin City. His manager at Dundee was former teammate Tommy Gemmell, but Johnstone later stated that his 'heart was not in it' and he did not apply himself properly during his short spell at Dens Park, having lost the motivation to play for other clubs after being released by Celtic.


International career

Johnstone began his international career on 5 February 1964, playing for the Scottish Under 23 side in a friendly against England U23s, losing 2–0. He made one further appearance for the Scotland U23 side in May that year, a 3–0 win away against France U23. He made his international debut for the full Scottish international side on 3 October 1964 in a British Home Championship match against
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
, in place of Rangers winger Willie Henderson. He was involved in the move that led to Scotland's second goal, though the match ended in a 3–2 win for the Welsh. Johnstone's next cap came that same month in a
World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...
qualifier at
Hampden Park Hampden Park ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden'') is a association football, football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the national stadium of football in Scotland and home of the Scotland national football ...
against
Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
. Scotland won 3–1, but Johnstone's performance was unimpressive, with his passing described as "lacking accuracy." Johnstone did not play for Scotland again until 2 April 1966, when he scored his first two international goals in a 4–3 defeat against
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
at Hampden Park. The first goal came with Scotland trailing 4–1, when he latched on to a pass from Denis Law and used his pace and power to run past the English defence and beat goalkeeper Gordon Banks from close range. He pulled back another goal for Scotland when he chased a floated ball towards goal from a Jim Baxter free kick and, from close range, scored with a powerful shot off the underside of the bar. Johnstone, along with Denis Law, was reported as one of Scotland's best performers, and his play resulted in England's
Nobby Stiles Norbert Peter Stiles (18 May 194230 October 2020) was an English professional footballer. He played for England for five years, winning 28 caps and scoring one goal. He played every minute of England's victorious 1966 FIFA World Cup campaign. I ...
being booked for a crushing tackle on him. Johnstone continued to play sporadically for Scotland, and he didn't score his next international goal until 22 October 1969 in a World Cup qualifier away against
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
, Scotland losing 3–2. In May 1974, during the build-up to the
1974 FIFA World Cup The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the 10th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the ...
, and days before a British Home Championship match against England at Hampden, Johnstone and his other Scotland teammates took part in a drinking session at their hotel in
Largs Largs () is a town on the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland, about from Glasgow. The original name means "the slopes" (''An Leargaidh'') in Scottish Gaelic. A popular seaside resort with a pier, the town markets itself on its histor ...
,
Ayrshire Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...
. In the early hours, the group headed for shore, with Johnstone deciding to go out in a rowing boat. However, the boat had no rowlocks to take the oars and Johnstone found himself being taken out to sea by the tide. Stranded at sea, Johnstone had to be rescued by the Coastguard and the incident dominated headlines for days. Despite the embarrassing headlines, Johnstone went on to turn in an outstanding performance for Scotland against England, helping them to a 2–0 win. Johnstone was part of the Scotland squad that travelled to West Germany for the World Cup in the summer of 1974, but he didn't play in their three games. Johnstone won 23 caps for Scotland.


Style of play

Regarded as one of Scotland's greatest players, Johnstone was a diminutive winger known for his technique and dribbling skills, being able to go past players with ease, cut inside, score or contribute to goals.


Later life

After his playing career ended, Johnstone's problems with alcohol worsened, despite the efforts of his family. When he approached Glasgow businessman and Celtic fan Willie Haughey in 1992 offering his medals for sale, Johnstone instead received support and guidance from Haughey in combatting his addictions, and the two men remained close friends thereafter. A documentary film about Johnstone's life, created by Jamie Doran and narrated by Billy Connolly titled '' Lord of the Wing'' first aired on the BBC on 25 April 2004. In June 2005, Carl Fabergé's great-granddaughter Sarah produced 19 jewelled eggs related to Johnstone.


Death and legacy

Having been diagnosed with incurable
motor neuron disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, terminal neurodegenerative disorder that results in the progressive loss of both upper and low ...
(MND) five years earlier, Johnstone died in March 2006, aged 61. The last person to call him was old Rangers rival Willie Henderson, who had become a firm friend of Johnstone. Thousands of Celtic fans and fans of many other clubs, including those of arch-rivals Rangers, paid tribute to his memory outside
Celtic Park Celtic Park is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium and the home of Scottish Premiership team Celtic F.C., Celtic, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest List of football stadiums in Sco ...
on
Saint Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (), is a religious and cultural holiday held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Chris ...
, the day of his funeral service. Tributes were paid to Johnstone before the 2006 Scottish League Cup Final, played between Celtic and
Dunfermline Dunfermline (; , ) is a city, parish, and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. Dunfermline was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of Scotland between the 11th and 15th centuries. The earliest ...
. There was a minute of applause before the game and the entire Celtic squad wore the number 7 on their shorts in his honour. In 2008, a bronze statue by Kate Robinson of Johnstone in action was unveiled at the main entrance to
Celtic Park Celtic Park is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium and the home of Scottish Premiership team Celtic F.C., Celtic, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest List of football stadiums in Sco ...
. In 2011, a statue of Johnstone and a memorial garden were created on the site at his former school, close to his home, on the Old Edinburgh Road, in Viewpark. The garden was opened by Johnstone's wife, family and some of the surviving members of the 'Lisbon Lions' team. The bronze, lifesize statue was made by sculptor John McKenna.
FIFA 100 The FIFA 100 is a list compiled by Brazilian professional footballer Pelé featuring his choices of the "greatest living footballers" at the time of its release. The list was unveiled on 4 March 2004 during a gala ceremony at the Natural Histor ...
All-time Dutch great Rob Rensenbrink recalled Johnstone first among world-class Scottish footballers.


Career statistics


Club


International appearances


International goals

:''Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first.''


Honours

; Celtic *
Scottish First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. It was replaced by the Scottish Championship. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 in Scottish footb ...
(9): 1965–66, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1973–74 *
Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...
(5): 1965–66, 1966–67, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1974–75 *
European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...
: 1967 **Runner-up 1970 ; Scotland * Home Championship (4): 1966–67, 1969–70, 1971–72, 1973–74 ;Individual *
Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual association football, football award presented by French magazine ''France Football'' since 1956 Ballon d'Or, 1956 to honour the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous season. Conceived ...
(3rd place):
1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...
*''Rothmans Golden Boots Awards'': 1970, 1972


References

*


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnstone, Jimmy 1944 births 2006 deaths Men's association football wingers Celtic F.C. players Neurological disease deaths in Scotland Deaths from motor neuron disease in the United Kingdom Dundee F.C. players Elgin City F.C. players League of Ireland players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players San Jose Earthquakes (1974–1988) players Scotland men's international footballers Scottish Football League players 1974 FIFA World Cup players Sheffield United F.C. players Shelbourne F.C. players English Football League players Scottish Football Hall of Fame inductees Scottish Football League representative players Footballers from North Lanarkshire Scotland men's under-23 international footballers Scottish Roman Catholics Scottish men's footballers UEFA Champions League–winning players Highland Football League players Scottish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Scottish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's association footballers in the Republic of Ireland Blantyre Celtic F.C. players Scotland men's junior international footballers 20th-century Scottish sportsmen