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| David Johnstone |
 David Barr Johnstone was born on Thursday, 10th December, 1896, in Beith, North Ayrshire. The midfielder signed for George Easton's Thistle on Saturday, 28th August, 1920, having most recently been with Glengarnock Vale. Aged 23, he made his debut appearance on Monday, 30th August, 1920, in a 0-0 draw away to Albion Rovers in the Scottish Football League. David scored his first goal for Thistle on Saturday, 1st January, 1921, in a 1-0 win at home to Third Lanark in the Scottish Football League. He scored the last of his 3 goals on Saturday, 3rd September, 1921, in a 4-2 win at home to Dumbarton in the SFL First Division. He played his last game for the club on Saturday, 10th March, 1923, in a 1-0 defeat at home to Falkirk in the SFL First Division, having appeared as a Jag on 64 occasions. His club-list included Beith Thistle, Glenburn Rovers, Beith, Glengarnock Vale, Motherwell, Partick Thistle and Arthurlie. David died on Monday, 4th March, 1963, in Beith, North Ayrshire, aged 66. |
 Although he never played in any of the first six games of our '21 Cup campaign, David Johnstone was in place for the final five, starting with the Quarter Final decider against Motherwell. A Beith man through and through, the 23-year-old stepped up from the Ayrshire juniors game in August, 1920, having been identified as a great candidate for our right back slot, recently vacated by Tom Adams, who was stepping down from the senior game. He struggled to make the position his own though, and it was Tom Crichton who emerged as first choice in that area. In the 1921 New Years derby game against Third Lanark, David became the latest to be tried at centre forward and was the hero of the 1-0 win, deluding everyone that he may be the solution to the problem. With the benefit of hindsight, 3 goals in 64 appearances suggests that this was a false dawn, and that he was never an outright centre. With the unexpected death of Willie Hamilton in August 1921, the Thistle midfield had to be reshuffled in 1921-22, and David came into his own at right half. He made 35 appearances during that season, 28 of which were in the middle line. With his 25% defender, 50% midfielder, 25% forward credentials, he gave the selectors a versatile option that could be relied upon to give 100%, whether making or breaking play. The emergence of Alex Lambie and Jimmy Gibson saw David muscled out of the side by 1922-23, and he returned to the juniors game, initially with Arthurlie, before finishing his career with several seasons at his beloved Beith, where he continued as club secretary from the mid-1930s. |
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