Glen Johnson (born April 22, 1951) is a former Canadian international soccer player and prominent member of the original

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on Mar ...

of the NASL. He is an honoured member of the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame. In the Pacific Coast League, Johnson made his debut at just 16 years old in 1967–68 with Vancouver Firefighters FC. The following season, he joined Vancouver Eintracht and led the team with eight goals. After the 1968–69 season, he joined Vancouver Spartans for the 1969 Western Canada Soccer League season and scored 14 goals in just six weeks. In the club's first-ever match on 18 May, he scored six goals in an 8–2 win over Calgary Buffalo Kickers. Despite playing just half the season, he finished second in league scoring behind

John Schepers John Schepers (27 February 1943) is a Canadian former soccer player. He was a national champion with Winnipeg AN&AF Scottish (1962) and a three-time Western Canada Soccer League winner with Regina Concordia (1963, 1964) and Calgary Buffalo Kicke ...

. Johnson left in July 1969 for a trial with

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

after he had been spotted in May by manager Alan Ashman during an Albion tour of Canada. He played just 3 league games before suffering a knee injury. A

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

native, Johnson was Whitecap's general manager Denny Veitch's first signing for the team's inaugural season, 1974. Johnson went on to play four seasons in the NASL with the Whitecaps, 1974 through 1977. He was the league's 16th leading scorer in 1975 with 23 points in 21 games. Johnson also played for Vancouver Columbus FC in the 1978, 1979 and 1980 season. Johnson officially made eight international "A" appearances for Canada from 1972 to 1976, six of which were in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. He scored in his debut on 20 August 1972 at

King George V Park King George V Park is a soccer-specific stadium in St. John's, Newfoundland, located at the head of Quidi Vidi Lake in downtown St. John's. The stadium was built in 1925 as the National stadium of Newfoundland. It is the oldest surviving socce ...

. He played in four games against the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, three games against

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, and one against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. He also made four exhibition appearances against club teams from Guatemala, England ( Arsenal), and the United States (

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independ ...

References

External links

* / Canada Soccer Hall of Fame
Canada Soccer Hall of Fame

Canada Soccer Records & Results

1951 births Living people Soccer players from Vancouver Canadian men's soccer players Men's association football forwards North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players English Football League players Vancouver Spartans players Eintracht Vancouver players Vancouver Whitecaps (1974–1984) players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Canada men's international soccer players Canada Soccer Hall of Fame inductees Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England {{Canada-footy-bio-stub