[1][usurped] Johnston played when the Glenelg club (formed in 1920) was still very much struggling to be competitive against the other seven, more established, sides in the League.
Johnston played 203 league games (the first Glenelg player to pass the 200 mark) during his career, won three best and fairest awards, and put in a best afield performance as the club broke its premiership duck against Port Adelaide in 1934.
Jeff Pash, himself a Magarey Medallist in 1939, described Johnston as "a phenomenal leaper for the ball ... he had the sort of (frightening) steel-spring strength about him that John Coleman had.
"[1] Although smaller than most opposition ruckmen, in addition to his brilliant leap, he was extraordinarily powerful, an asset which served him well when playing for South Australia against the bigger bodies of Victoria.
His grandfather, George Bain Johnston, was a noted pioneer of the River Murray steamboat era.