Remembering Rod Johnson, one of Revie's originals

Yesterday we learned of the sad passing of Rod Johnson, former Leeds United forward and one of Don Revie’s original talented crop of youngsters. As a youngster Rod Johnson played for Middleton Parkside Juniors alongside Paul Madeley and Paul Reaney. He was rejected by Reading after trials, before joining Leeds United. He signed professional terms for the club in February 1962 at the age of seventeen and just six months later he made his first team debut against Swansea Town at the Vetch Field filling in for the injured John Charles. No pressure there then? He enjoyed a scoring debut but was also carried off, after a collision with the much larger Swansea goalkeeper, Noel Dwyer, when Don Revie picked a crop of promising young players for the game.

Norman Hunter and Paul Reaney also made their debut and Gary Sprake played only his second first team appearance in that game. He was unlucky with injuries and was side-lined for a lengthy period after an operation to remove a cyst on a leg muscle. His appearances were limited to just four in that 1962-63 season as Don Weston and Jim Storrie were given the striking roles. 1963-64 was a barren season for Johnson as he failed to make one appearance as Alan Peacock was bought to enforce United's promotion push along with Storrie, Weston and Ian Lawson. After Peacock was side-lined for the first half of the 1964-65 season, Johnson was given a run of eight League and one FA Cup game in the first team.

He scored in the first of those games on 28th November 1964 in a 1-0 home win over West Bromwich Albion and in the next game, against Manchester United at Old Trafford, on 5th December 1964, he was part of a famous Leeds victory as a Bobby Collins goal gave Leeds both points. Johnson had a fine game and ran rings round the Manchester Centre Half, Bill Foulkes. Unfortunately Johnson was not sufficiently robust to wear down First Division Centre Halves. He was quick and nimble and adept in bringing other players into the game as well as taking up good scoring positions himself. In the next game, a 1-0 home win over Aston Villa at Elland Road it was his cross that was deflected into the net by Gordon Lee that gave United victory.



Goalkeeper Gary Sprake lifted by three of his colleagues; Peter Lorimer, Jimmy Greenhoff and Rod Johnson


It was his goal, his third for the club, which ensured a fourth 1-0 victory on the trot, at Molineux against Wolverhampton Wanderers, for the fast rising Leeds team, which now sat in third position on the First Division ladder. He was in the side that went top of the First Division with a 2-1 win over Sunderland at Elland Road on 2nd January 1965 and he scored the third goal in United's first advance towards a Wembley final, as they beat Southport at Elland Road on 9th January 1965 and he was on the scoresheet the following week with the second goal in a 2-2 draw with Leicester City, at Filbert Street, which helped maintain United's hold on first spot in the Championship race.

In his spell of eight League and one F.A. Cup match, Leeds had not been beaten and drawn just two of their games. Weston and Peacock came back from long-standing injuries and Johnson's spell in the limelight was over apart from the odd game as a substitute and the rare appearance in League or League Cup matches. It was in one such League Cup match that Johnson scored his final Leeds goal, when he scored United's second goal in a 4-2 win over Hartlepool United at Elland Road on 22nd September 1965.

Like many fine young home-produced players of the early Revie era Johnson suffered from the excess of talent at that time and his chances were severely limited as were many others on the fringe of the great team. After several years of faithful service many of them became valued players with other clubs. The others; Sprake, Reaney and Hunter became household names, but Johnson’s impact was made in the lower Divisions with spells at Doncaster Rovers, Rotherham United and Bradford City. After retiring from the professional game in 1979 he played for part-time Gainsborough Trinity and Garforth Town.