George Johnston (born 21 March 1947) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. He played more than 150 matches in the English

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

Life and career

Johnston was born in Glasgow. He began his football career as a junior at

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

, turning professional in 1964 and making his debut at the end of the 1964–65 season at the age of 17. He was part of Cardiff's 1965 Welsh Cup-winning team. The following year he settled into the side and, playing alongside the likes of John Charles and John Toshack, he finished as the club's top scorer with a total of 23 goals. In March 1967, Johnston played in a benefit match for victims of the Aberfan disaster against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

and scored twice against the London club, which persuaded them to offer £20,000 to Cardiff to sign him. He made his debut for Arsenal on 19 August 1967, against

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

, and made 17 appearances in his first season, 1967-68. However, he could not hold down a place in 1968–69 and was dropped to the reserves, where he won a Football Combination winners' medal. Out of the Arsenal first team, he joined Second Division club Birmingham City in the summer of 1969, for a fee of £30,000. He made 25 appearances and scored 3 goals for Arsenal. Signed as a replacement for Fred Pickering, Johnston failed to hold down a first-team place. A period on loan at Walsall immediately preceded a £6,000 move to

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

, where he spent two years. A season with Hereford United followed, and one more with Newport County, before, at the age of just 26, he dropped out of league football. He later settled in Cardiff and worked for a marine engineering company.

Honours

Cardiff City * Welsh Cup: 1965

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, George 1947 births Living people Footballers from Glasgow Scottish footballers Association football forwards Cardiff City F.C. players Arsenal F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Fulham F.C. players Hereford United F.C. players Newport County A.F.C. players English Football League players