James Johnston (1900s footballer)

For the Abercorn and Scotland player, see James Johnston (footballer, born 1866).

James Johnston
Personal information
Position(s) Outside right
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1901–1907 Third Lanark 119 (47)
1907–1908 Swindon Town  34 (4)
1908–1910 Third Lanark  47 (12)
Total 200 (63)
International career
1903 Scottish League XI 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

James Johnston[a] was a Scottish footballer who played as an outside right, mainly for Third Lanark.[1][2]

He won the Scottish Football League championship with the Glasgow club in 1903–04[3][4] and played in two consecutive Scottish Cup finals, scoring in the first – a win over Rangers in 1905 via a replay[5] – but losing to Heart of Midlothian in 1906.[6] He also played in England with Swindon Town (then competing in the Southern Football League) for a season,[7] finding the winning goal in an FA Cup 'giant killing' of Sheffield United,[8] before returning to Third Lanark for two more years, collecting a Glasgow Cup medal[9] to add to two others won in his first spell.[10][11]

Johnston was selected once for the Scottish Football League XI in 1903,[12] and played twice in the Glasgow Football Association's annual challenge match against Sheffield.[1]


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  1. ^ a b John Litster (October 2012). "A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players". Scottish Football Historian magazine. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. ^ (Third Lanark player) Johnstone, James, FitbaStats
  3. ^ One Hit Wonders: Third Lanark (Scotland), 1903-04, Soccer Stories, 13 January 2014
  4. ^ Scotland 1903/04, RSSSF, 21 October 2001
  5. ^ Football. | Scottish Cup–Final Tie., The Glasgow Herald, 17 April 1905
  6. ^ "Sat 28 Apr 1906 Scottish Cup Hearts 1 Third Lanark 0". London Hearts. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  7. ^ Player Profile | Jimmy Johnston, Swindon-Town-FC
  8. ^ 1908, The Giant Killers
  9. ^ Football. Glasgow Cup–Replayed Final Tie., The Glasgow Herald, 29 October 1908
  10. ^ Third Lanark v Celtic 3-0 (Glasgow Cup Final: October 25, 1902), Play Up Liverpool
  11. ^ Football. | Glasgow Cup–Final Tie., The Glasgow Herald, 30 November 1903
  12. ^ (SFL player) James Johnstone [merged into the record of Jimmy Johnstone ], London Hearts Supporters Club