First spell at Rangers Born in
Glasgow but raised in
Fife and known by the nickname 'Bud', Two months later, following injury to the established outside left
Davie Wilson, Johnston was named in the side for the
final of that competition and received his first winner's medal after a 2–1
Old Firm victory over
Celtic. He was befriended by one of the team's key players, fellow Fife native
Jim Baxter. before Rangers won the
1965–66 Scottish Cup 1–0 in a replay, 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, 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 included 65 goals from 137 appearances (as well as four caps for Scotland), but this yielded only one minor
Glasgow Cup 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 less than a month after Johnston had scored a hat-trick against them in a cup tie at
Celtic Park. 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 in
1968,
Newcastle United in
1969). 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 (sitting on the ball), which supposedly brought shame on the club. 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 as Rangers won the
European Cup-Winners' Cup in
1971–72 by defeating
Dynamo Moscow 3–2 in
Barcelona. By that time he was often playing as a
striker alongside
Colin Stein (the other scorer in the final) as formations were modified.
West Bromwich and later years On 1 December 1972 Johnston joined a struggling
West Bromwich Albion who were 1 point above England's top tier relegation positions. Albion paid a then club record £138,000. He debuted against
Liverpool that month. Johnston ended his first season in England with relegation to the Second Division. West Brom remained there for three seasons before winning promotion at the end of the
1975–76 Football League season. He was not selected for the Scotland
1974 FIFA World Cup squad. Indeed he was not capped at all in between November 1970 and April 1977. His career included some controversial incidents. Widely regarded as possessing a short temper to match his quickness and skill, A year earlier, having been provoked by his opponent, he had been shown a red card for violent conduct in a friendly against
Argentina on his last visit to that nation. 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. often listed as one of the reasons for the development of the
rivalry between the clubs. This has since been denied by McMaster himself, who said that Johnston had jumped on his chest and that this had caused him some difficulty in breathing, but he had not needed resuscitation. He won another
Scottish Cup winner's medal in
1981, 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. ==Personal life==