William McClure Johnston (born 19 December 1946) is a Scottish former 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 ...

, best remembered for his time at Rangers and

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 ...

. He made 22 international appearances for

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

and was selected for their 1978 FIFA World Cup squad, but was sent home from the tournament after failing a drugs test.

Career

First spell at Rangers

Born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

but raised in Fife and known by the nickname 'Bud', Johnston began his career at local

Junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

club Lochore Welfare, also signing schoolboy forms with Rangers. He joined the ''Gers'' full-time in 1964 aged 17 and soon made his debut against St Johnstone in the

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay 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 existen ...

on 29 August 1964. Two months later, following injury to the established outside left

Davie Wilson David Wilson (10 January 1937 – 14 June 2022)final of that competition and received his first winner's medal after a 2–1

Old Firm The Old Firm is the collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are by far the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply em ...

victory over Celtic. He was befriended by one of the team's key players, fellow Fife native

Jim Baxter James Curran Baxter (29 September 1939 – 14 April 2001) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a left half. He is generally regarded as one of the country's greatest ever players. He was born, educated and started his career ...

. The following season, Rangers and Celtic shared a cup triumph each, beating the other in the finals; Celtic gained revenge in the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

before Rangers won the

1965–66 Scottish Cup The 1965–66 Scottish Cup was the 81st staging of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. The Cup was won by Rangers who defeated Celtic in the replayed final. Preliminary round 1 Replays Preliminary round 2 Replay ...

1–0 in a replay, with Wilson playing at

inside left 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 ...

in the matches to accommodate both him and Johnston in the team. Ten days before the League Cup Final, on 13 October 1965, Johnston had made his debut for Scotland in a World Cup qualifying fixture 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 ...

, aged just 18; the match would end with disappointment in a 2–1 home defeat, the opponents scoring both their goals in the last five minutes. In the 1966 Scottish League Cup Final between the same sides, it was Celtic who prevailed by another 1–0 scoreline. Johnston also played in the surprise Scottish Cup defeat to Berwick Rangers in January 1967, suffering a broken ankle, but recovered from the injury in time for the European Cup Winners' Cup Final on 31 May, in which Rangers lost out 1–0 to Bayern Munich. Over the next three seasons, Johnston's personal output was an impressive 65 goals from 137 appearances (as well as four caps for Scotland), but this yielded only one minor

Glasgow Cup The Glasgow Cup is a football tournament open to teams from Glasgow, Scotland. Operated by the Glasgow Football Association, it was competed for annually by senior Glasgow clubs from 1887 until 1989. It is now (since the 2019–20 amended rul ...

win during the period; arch-rivals Celtic had begun a period of dominance at that time, and overwhelmed Rangers 4–0 in the

1969 Scottish Cup Final The 1968–69 Scottish Cup was the 84th staging of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. The Cup was won by Celtic who defeated Rangers in the final. First preliminary round The First preliminary round was played on 14 De ...

less than a month after Johnston had scored a hat-trick against them in a cup tie at

Celtic Park Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is al ...

. There was further disappointment as the club was twice eliminated from the latter stages of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup by English opponents, both of whom went on to win the trophy (

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

, Newcastle United in

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

). Johnston missed the home leg against Newcastle through suspension after he was sent off in the previous round against Athletic Bilbao. Celtic's domination of the Scottish league continued into the 1970s, and ultimately Johnston would end his spell at Ibrox without a championship medal. The 1970 Scottish League Cup Final went Rangers' way 1–0 over the familiar opponents, Johnston providing the cross for the winning goal, but he was fined afterwards by manager Willie Waddell for

showboating A showboat, or show boat, was a floating theater that traveled along the waterways of the United States, especially along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, to bring culture and entertainment to the inhabitants of river frontiers. Showboats were a ...

(sitting on the ball), which supposedly brought shame on the club. The final of the 1970–71 Scottish Cup, yet another Old Firm clash, was won by Celtic after a replay. A major off-field tragedy had also befallen Rangers that year when 66 supporters died in a disaster at the stadium. Johnston scored twice in

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

as Rangers won the

European Cup-Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourna ...

in 1971–72 by defeating

Dynamo Moscow MGO VFSO "Dynamo" (russian: МГО ВФСО «Динамо»), commonly known as Dynamo Moscow (russian: Динамо Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. Founded by Felix Dzerzhinsky on 18 April 1923, Dynamo Moscow was the first ...

3–2 in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

. By that time he was often playing as a striker alongside

Colin Stein Colin Anderson Stein (born 10 May 1947) is a Scottish former footballer, who played for Hibernian, Rangers (two spells), Coventry City and Kilmarnock. Stein was part of the Rangers team that won the 1971–72 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, and he ...

(the other scorer in the final) as formations were modified.

West Bromwich and later years

In December 1972 Johnston moved to England to join

, making his debut against

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

in the same month. Albion paid a club record £138,000 to bring him to

The Hawthorns The Hawthorns is an all-seater football stadium in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England, with a capacity of 26,688. It has been the home of Championship club West Bromwich Albion since 1900, when it became the sixth ground to be used by the cl ...

. He was not selected for the Scotland squad for the 1974 FIFA World Cup and indeed was not capped at all between 1970 and 1977, returning during

the first season ''The First Season'' is a Canadian drama film, released in 1989. The film stars Kate Trotter as Alex Cauldwell, a woman in British Columbia who, following the death of her fisherman husband Frank (Dwight Koss), tries to support herself and her dau ...

of West Brom's spell back in the First Division after three years in the second tier. His career included some controversial incidents. Widely regarded as possessing a short temper to match his quickness and skill, he was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

over 20 times in his career. His move to West Brom came in the wake of a two-month ban for punching an opponent. After Scotland's opening game against

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

in the

1978 World Cup The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It was held in Argentina between 1 and 25 June. The Cup was won by t ...

in Argentina, Johnston tested positive for a banned stimulant contained in Reactivan, a medication prescribed for his hay fever. His subsequent expulsion from the squad ended his international career after 22 appearances, although he maintained his innocence. A year earlier, having been provoked by his opponent, he had been shown a red card for violent conduct in a friendly against

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

on his last visit to that nation. While playing for the

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 ...

, he once mooned the

Seattle Sounders Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

bench following a goal, and on another occasion took a swig from a fan's beer before taking a corner kick in San Jose, setting up a goal from the set-piece. Johnston was a key member of the 1979 NASL champion Vancouver Whitecaps alongside the likes of English World Cup winner Alan Ball, helping them defeat the

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 ...

in the semi-final, and then the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...

2–1 in

Soccer Bowl '79 Soccer Bowl '79 was the championship final of the 1979 NASL season. The National Conference champion Vancouver Whitecaps played the American Conference champion Tampa Bay Rowdies. The match was played on September 8, 1979, at Giants Stadium, in Eas ...

. Johnston returned to Rangers in 1980 to play under former teammate

John Greig John Greig (born 11 September 1942) is a Scottish former professional footballer, who played as a defender. He spent his entire career with Rangers, as a player, manager and director. Greig was voted "The Greatest Ever Ranger" in 1999 by the ...

. During a game at Ibrox that year,

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

player John McMaster had to be given the kiss of life after Johnston stamped on his throat, often listed as one of the reasons for the development of the rivalry between the clubs. He won another

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

, although he only played in the first match and not the victorious replay. Johnston made 404 appearances in all competitions for Rangers over his spells at the club, scoring 131 goals. He then had a spell at Hearts under another old ''Gers'' colleague, Alex MacDonald, where he was sanctioned by the SFA for apparently headbutting Celtic's David Provan and clashing with their manager

Billy McNeill William McNeill (2 March 1940 – 22 April 2019) was a Scottish football player and manager. He had a long association with Celtic, spanning more than sixty years as a player, manager and club ambassador. McNeill captained Celtic's 'Lisbon Lio ...

(a former on-field adversary), and later for commenting on the incident in a newspaper. In 2004 Johnston was named as one of West Bromwich Albion's 16 greatest players, in a poll organised as part of the club's 125th anniversary celebrations.

Personal life

Johnston was brought up in

Cardenden Cardenden () is a Scottish town located on the south bank of the River Ore in the parish of Auchterderran, Fife. It is approximately north-west of Kirkcaldy. Cardenden was named in 1848 by the Edinburgh and Northern Railway for its new railway ...

, working as a miner after leaving school. He now lives in Kirkcaldy. The Port Brae Bar pub in the town was run by his son Dean until a dispute with the

Belhaven Brewery Belhaven Brewery is a brewery based in Belhaven, Scotland. The brewery dates from 1719, at least; by 2005 it had become the largest and oldest surviving independent brewery in Scotland. In November 2005, the Suffolk based brewery Greene K ...

led to the pub being boarded up, locking Johnston's collection of memorabilia inside.

Honours

Rangers *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1965–66, 1980–81 *

: 1964–65, 1970–71 *

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourn ...

: 1971–72 **Runner-up 1966–67 Vancouver Whitecaps * 1979 NASL Soccer Bowl

Notes and references

External links

*
West Bromwich Albion profile
at ''Sporting-Heroes.net''
Profile
at ''Old Baggies'' (WBA Former Players Association) {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Willie 1946 births Living people Footballers from Glasgow Footballers from Fife People from Cardenden 1978 FIFA World Cup players Birmingham City F.C. players Doping cases in association football Expatriate soccer players in Canada Association football wingers Heart of Midlothian F.C. players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Rangers F.C. players Scotland international footballers Scottish expatriate footballers Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Hong Kong Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Canada Scottish Football League players Scottish footballers English Football League players Scottish sportspeople in doping cases Vancouver Whitecaps (1974–1984) players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Expatriate footballers in Hong Kong Scottish Junior Football Association players Lochore Welfare F.C. players Scotland under-23 international footballers East Fife F.C. players