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About this product
"Half a century ago, Bobby Johnstone became the first player to score in consecutive FA Cup Finals at Wembley. Today, such an achievement would bring worldwide fame, while fortunes are available to rather ordinary footballers. Yet Bobby Johnstone did not earn his fortune.
Born at the end of the 1920s at Selkirk, in the Scottish Borders, his early life was tough. After the war, Bobby began his football career with Selkirk FC, but the mighty Hibernian soon noticed him. Hibs had not won a major trophy for over 40 years, but they assembled the all-international forward line of Smith, Johnstone, Reilly, Turnbull and Ormand, and their Golden age began.
Glory soon came, though Bobby Johnstone broke up the Five when he left Edinburgh to play in the Football League - Hibs have never won the Championship since.
Within 14 months of arriving in Manchester City, Bobby performed his historic feat in the game that is more often recalled because Bert Trauttman suffered a brokwn neck. City scored (and conceded) an unprecedented number of goals in the late 1950s, but soon after falling out with the manager, Bobby moved back to Hibernian, who again began to register an astounding number of goals.
A year later, another fall-out, and it was off to Oldham Athletic, who were on the point of drawing their final breath in front of a few die-hard supporters. Ovr 17,000 came to see if it was true. It was. Latics won 5-2, and two years on they were promoted on the back of a century of goals. Bobby played until the mid-1960s, but injuries eventually took their toll. Bobby now faced the end of his career with no clear idea of what the next step would be.
He left a rich sporting legacy; his were the days of the heavy, leather football, the heaving terraces, the maximum wage and the true unpredictability of the outcome.
The book tells Bobby's footballing story, from the time he followed his father as a player for Selkirk, through his fabulous career and onto retirement. The stories of his progress are illuminated bby interviews with those who played alongside Bobby at every stage of his career. It is a fascinating stoy of the type of footballer whose day is seemingly gone - it is the story of the passing of an age."
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