Jimmy Johnstone

The 'Jinky' genius who dazzled for Celtic and Scotland.

James Connolly Johnstone (30 September 1944 – 13 March 2006) was a Scottish footballer who played as an outside right. Known as "Jinky" for his elusive dribbling style, Johnstone played for Celtic for 13 years and was one of the Lisbon Lions, the team that won the 1967 European Cup Final. Johnstone also won nine consecutive Scottish championships. He scored 129 goals for Celtic in 515 appearances and was voted the club's greatest-ever player by fans in 2002. Johnstone also won 23 caps for Scotland. He finished third in voting for the 1967 Ballon d'Or and was inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame when it was inaugurated in 2004.

Quick Facts

Full name: James Connolly Johnstone
Born: 30 September 1944
Birthplace: Viewpark, Scotland
Height: 1.62 m / 5 ft 4 in
Died: 13 March 2006
Place of death: Uddingston, Scotland
Position: Outside right
Total caps: 357

Lore & Background

Johnstone was the youngest of five children born to Matthew and Sarah Johnstone. He grew up in the family home on Old Edinburgh Road in Viewpark, North Lanarkshire, and was educated at St Columba's primary school in Viewpark and then at St John's secondary school in Uddingston. His footballing ability first came to note at primary school, playing for the St Columba's team that won three trophies in 1953–54. At home, he used to dribble around milk bottles every day in the hallway for hours to perfect his skills. On reading that Stanley Matthews used to walk to Blackpool's ground wearing heavy boots to strengthen his leg muscles, Johnstone began wearing pit boots and would sprint and play football in them. He signed youth terms for Celtic on the same day as left-back Tommy Gemmell. In order to gain experience, Johnstone was farmed out to junior club Blantyre Celtic.

Reader's Guide

Johnstone made his first team debut for Celtic on 27 March 1963 in a 6–0 defeat away against Kilmarnock in the league. His next appearance came a month later, away against Hearts. He was again on the losing side (4–3), but scored his first senior goal. Despite the defeats, Johnstone's performances won him a place in the team for the Scottish Cup Final on 4 May 1963 against Rangers.

The young winger turned in a fine performance, helping Celtic to a creditable 1–1 draw with his confident dribbling. He also scored a goal but it was disallowed due to a foul moments earlier by teammate John Hughes. Johnstone was dropped for the replay and Celtic were outclassed by Rangers, who ran out comfortable 3–0 winners. The following season saw Johnstone establish himself as a regular in the side.

He played in 25 league games, scoring six goals. He also helped Celtic reach the semi-finals of the European Cup Winners' Cup, scoring against FC Basel in a 5–0 win at Parkhead in the first round, and then against MTK Budapest in a 3–0 win in the first leg of the semi-final. Celtic, however, lost 4–0 in the return match in Hungary and were knocked out on aggregate. Celtic were struggling throughout the 1960s until Jock Stein arrived at the club in 1965.

By this time Johnstone was struggling to hold down a regular spot in the first team. On arrival at Celtic, Stein had doubts about Johnstone, considering him too much of an individual player, to the overall detriment of the team, and he left him out of the team for the 1965 Scottish Cup Final. Johnstone soon won Stein round with his skill, and won his first winner's medal on 23 October 1965 when he played in Celtic's 2–1 win over Rangers in the Scottish League Cup Final.

His 32 league appearances and nine goals that season helped Celtic win their first league title in 12 years. Johnstone also helped Celtic reach their second European semi-final, scoring twice against Go Ahead Eagles en route, before losing 2–1 on aggregate to Liverpool in the Cup Winners' Cup. Johnstone was one of the "Lisbon Lions", the team that won the then European Cup for Celtic in 1967. In an early round tie against Nantes, Johnstone's trickery on the wing saw him dubbed "the Flying Flea" by the French press, while his performances over that season saw him finish third in the European Footballer of the Year award.