Rex Johnston

A switch-hitting outfielder who threw right-handed, Johnston signed with the Pirates in 1959 and spent five full seasons in Pittsburgh's minor league system before making the Bucs' varsity out of spring training in . MLB teams were then allowed to carry three extra players on their roster for the first 30 days of the season, and Johnston appeared in 14 games as a leftfielder, centerfielder, pinch hitter and pinch runner between April 15 and May 11. He logged ten plate appearances and drew three bases on balls, but went hitless in seven at bats. In his only Major League start, as a centerfielder on May 2 against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium, Johnston came to the plate five times against southpaws Curt Simmons and Bobby Shantz; he walked once, reached on an error, and grounded out three times. His baseball career continued at the Triple-A level through 1966, and he batted .266 with 59 home runs in 938 minor league games. ==Time with Steelers==

Johnston played halfback in college for USC. In 1960, when he was struggling as a baseball player at the Class C level in the Pirates' system, he was invited to try out for the NFL Steelers. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Johnston called Branch Rickey, Jr., the Pirates' farm system director, seeking permission to play pro football as well as baseball. "I'll never forget what he said: 'Rex, I look at your stats every day. If you've got something else to do, you'd better do it,'" Johnston recalled in 2004. As of 2004, Johnston was heading his family's industrial painting business in Paramount, California. ==References==