Scroll through the 1957-58 Topps basketball set and you might not even give him a second look. There’s Bill Russell’s rookie card. Bob Cousy’s, too. Bob Pettit. Paul Arizin. Tom Heinsohn. Frank Ramsey. Cliff Hagan.
Neil Johnston? If you’re a serious student of basketball history you might know him. If not, it’s time you did. One of the best scorers in the game during his eight-year career, Johnston’s rookie card is a hidden gem.
Dual Sport Athlete
Born in 1929 in Chillicothe, Ohio, Johnston went to Ohio State to play baseball and basketball. He was drafted by the Phillies during his Buckeye days but after two years in the minor leagues and a sore arm, he turned his attention to back to the hardwood.
“It was my dad’s dream to see me play big league baseball,” Johnston recalled in 1954. “He would rather see me play one baseball game than 50 basketball games.”
He tried out for the Philadelphia Warriors in 1951 and not only made the cut, but became a key player for the franchise throughout the decade.
Johnston won three scoring titles in just eight pro seasons (1953,’54 and ’55) and led the league in field goal percentage three times thanks to his deadly hook shot. He averaged over 20 points per game for five straight years and in 1956, led the Warriors to the NBA title. He was the rebound king once(’55) but very close during other years to the top of the league.
Nicknamed “Gabby,” Johnston was a six-time All-Star and was named to the NBA’s All-First Team in four of his eight seasons. All of that despite missing two years to Marine Corps service during the Korean Conflict.
His overall statistical performance has translated well to the world of modern day metrics. He led the NBA in win shares in five consecutive seasons and is among the all-time leaders. His Player Efficiency rating? 11th all-time.
Coaching Wilt
A significant knee injury put an end to Johnston’s playing days after the 1958-59 season and he later became Wilt Chamberlain’s coach during the Big Dipper’s first two NBA seasons. Johnston also coached the Pittsburgh Rens of the American Basketball League and Wilmington of the Eastern Basketball League.
Johnston’s life came to an abrupt end in 1978 when he had a heart attack playing basketball with his son. He was just 49. He has since been elected in the Pennsylvania, Ohio State, and Naismith Basketball Hall of Fames.
A Statue…in Chillicothe
The Chillicothe, Ohio native is still relatively unknown in basketball circles. Equally surprising is that he is unknown even in his hometown to some degree. “People didn’t know him,” Bruce Caplinger, a local historian says. “A guy from Chillicothe who’s in the Basketball Hall of Fame and people here never heard of him.”
Chillicothe is trying to change that- honoring him with a statue outside of his high school gym on September 21 of this year. Johnston’s statue illustrates his amazing jump hook in all its glory.
“Just being able to tell people that Neil Johnston was one of the greatest basketball players in the history of the game, the pioneer of the hook shot, an NBA All-Star, Champion, and Hall of Fame member,” says Chillicothe High School athletic director Knute Bonner, “(it) brings a lot of recognition to not only what Chillicothe was, but what it is, and also what it can be.”
1957-58 Topps Rookie (and Only) Card
With his career sandwiched between the 1948-49 Bowman and 1961-62 Fleer sets, Johnston’s only card as an active player was in that ’57-58 Topps set. While his Hall of Fame status has long been secured and his card is valued a bit more than a common player, you can still own a fairly decent copy of this condition-sensitive card for under $100–and those in the VG to VG-EX range for under $50. One of the few high grade copies–a PSA 8.5–did sell earlier this month for $4,140, by far the most ever paid for a Johnston rookie card. A PSA 8 netted $2,163 in September of 2020 but that’s well below the value of some other established Hall of Famers. PSA has graded only 18 Johnston rookies at 8 or above. You can check out the inventory of his rookie cards on eBay right now here.
Johnston also appears on other collectibles including game programs and even a 1950s Sports Illustrated and has been featured in some modern era “all-time greats” subsets or other issues.
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