William Gifford Johnston (16 January 1901 – 1964) was a Scottish professional

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 le ...

who played as an

inside forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

for

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. The ...

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club are a professional association football, football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they wer ...

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

Macclesfield Town Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional association football, football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was liquidation, wound-up after a High Court of Justice, High Court ruling on 16 September 2020. Initially kno ...

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic ...

and

Frickley Frickley is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England in the civil parish of Clayton with Frickley. It lies close to the border with West Yorkshire. Local landmarks All Saints Church Frickley All Saints Church ...

. Johnston won the

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

Championship with Huddersfield Town in 1923–24 (8 appearances in the campaign). He played for Manchester United in the First Division and returned in the 1931–32 season following their relegation to the Second Division, after two seasons at Macclesfield. In later years Johnston moved to Frickley, taking on the roles of manager and club secretary as well as player and played a large role in securing the future of the football club in 1936.

References

* http://www.stretfordend.co.uk/playermenu/johnston.html *Official Frickley Athletic Museum website – Billy Johnston Collection https://archive.today/20141104230204/http://www.frickleyathleticmuseum.co.uk/billy-johnston *Silkmen Archives https://web.archive.org/web/20161024104502/http://www.silkmenarchives.org.uk/player_profiles/Players/j.html 1901 births 1964 deaths Date of death missing Scottish men's footballers Footballers from Edinburgh Men's association football inside forwards English Football League players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players Manchester United F.C. players Macclesfield Town F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Frickley Athletic F.C. players Dalkeith Thistle F.C. players Selby Town F.C. players Scottish Junior Football Association players {{Scotland-footy-midfielder-1900s-stub