Bobby Johnstone

Bobby Johnstone
Personal information
Full name	Robert Johnstone
Date of birth	7 September 1929
Place of birth	Selkirk, Selkirkshire, Scotland
Date of death	22 August 2001 (aged 71)
Place of death	Selkirk, Selkirkshire, Scotland
Position(s)	Inside Forward
Youth career
1945–1946	Newtongrange Star
1946–1949	Hibernian
Senior career*
Years	Team
1949–1955	Hibernian
1955–1959	Manchester City
1959–1961	Hibernian
1961–1965	Oldham Athletic
1965	Witton Albion
Total
International career
1951–1956	Scotland
1951–1954	Scottish League XI
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Robert "Bobby" Johnstone (7 September 1929 – 22 August 2001) was a Scottish association football player, mainly remembered as one of the Famous Five forward line of Hibernian.

In Hibs' rich history, no group of players has ever achieved greater fame than the Famous Five: Gordon Smith, Bobby Johnstone, Lawrie Reilly, Eddie Turnbull and Willie Ormond. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, they forged a front line that was the scourge of defences throughout Scotland.

Johnstone was the first of the five to leave Hibs, when he was sold to Manchester City in 1955. He also enjoyed success with the English club, becoming the first player to score in successive FA Cup Finals at Wembley, in 1955 and 1956.^[1] Johnstone, who is also fondly remembered by supporters of Oldham Athletic, won 17 caps for Scotland.

Career

Hibernian

Bobby Johnstone, known to his mates as 'Nicker', signed for Hibs in 1946 from Newtongrange Star and had two spells with them. Having signed for Hibs, Bobby 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 against Nithsdale Wanderers at Sanquhar. The Famous Five were born!

However, at the start of the 1949–50 season in August it was Bobby Combe in possession of the jersey. His big chance came in October after Hibs half backs got the blame for losing to Dunfermline in the League Cup semi final at Tynecastle. The entire half back line were dropped and Bobby was given his chance. Therefore, the Famous Five made their collective debut on 15 October 1949 against Queen of the South, with Hibs winning 2–0.^[2]

Along with Gordon Smith, Bobby picked up Scottish League winners medals in 1951 and 1952. He also played in a Scottish League Cup final.

Manchester City

He left in 1955 to join Manchester City for the hefty sum of £22,000. Bobby was the only one of the Famous Five to play in England. He scored in back-to-back FA Cup Finals for Manchester City, losing in 1955 to Newcastle United and winning in 1956 against Birmingham City. Johnstone was the first player to score in consecutive FA Cup Finals at Wembley. He played alongside future Hibs manager Dave Ewing in both finals.

Return to Hibs

Johnstone returned to Hibs in 1959 for £6,000. Bobby 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 against Partick Thistle and another 11 at Broomfield against Airdrie.

Oldham Athletic

After his second spell with Hibs he went south again to join Oldham Athletic and is widely regarded as one of their greatest ever players.

Bernard Halford was assistant secretary in those magical days of 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."

Not until the summer of 1965, some 19 years after his senior career had started, did Bobby finally retire. He may have been the unsung hero of the Famous Five, but he left the stage having gathered honours by the handful.

International

Of his thirteen international caps, probably the most memorable was scoring on his debut against England at Wembley in a 3–2 win in which Lawrie Reilly also scored. From Scotland's 22-man 1954 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 of Bobby Combe and Jimmy Binning. George Hamilton was also on reserve but travelled after Johnstone's withdrawal.

Bobby also collected international goals against Northern Ireland, Wales, Sweden and Finland. As well as winning 17 international caps for Scotland, Bobby also represented the Scottish League on 6 occasions.^[3] He also played for Great Britain against a "Rest of Europe" side.

International goals

Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	14 April 1951	Wembley Stadium (1923), 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 and 1954 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