Craig Johnston played as a midfielder in the English Football League between 1977 and 1988, for Middlesbrough and Liverpool.
34 Facts About Craig Johnston
1.
2.
Craig Johnston was a key member of the 1986 "double" winning team.
3.
Craig Johnston co-wrote the team's 1988 cup final song "Anfield Rap".
4.
Craig Johnston's career ended prematurely when aged 27, he retired from football to take care of his ill sister.
5.
Craig Johnston designed and created the prototype for one of the worlds largest selling football boots of all time, the Adidas Predator, worn by many footballers and rugby players.
6.
Craig Johnston was born in Johannesburg, South Africa to Australian parents; he returned home to Australia with his family as a small child.
7.
At the age of six, Craig Johnston contracted osteomyelitis and came close to losing his leg and would have done if not for the expertise of an American specialist who was touring and lecturing in Australia at the time.
8.
Craig Johnston began his career at Lake Macquarie City in Newcastle, New South Wales.
9.
Craig Johnston's parents sold their house to pay for the flight to England.
10.
Craig Johnston stayed in a cleaned out coal shed behind the hotel.
11.
Craig Johnston's first start came in the Intercontinental Cup fixture against Brazilian side Flamengo.
12.
Craig Johnston scored his first goal for Liverpool on 8 December 1981 against Arsenal at Anfield, during a League Cup fourth round replay.
13.
Craig Johnston became a crowd favourite at Anfield during his long spell with the club.
14.
Craig Johnston made 271 appearances for the club and scored 40 goals.
15.
Craig Johnston was part of the League championship-winning teams of 1982 and 1983 and gained a League Cup winner's medal in 1983.
16.
In 1984, Craig Johnston was part of the team which won a treble of League championship, League Cup and European Cup.
17.
Craig Johnston wrote the club's traditional Cup final song called "Anfield Rap" which combined pro-Liverpool lyrics with the rap and house trends of the time, with other Liverpool players contributing.
18.
Craig Johnston was approached by Jock Stein in the early 1980s with a view to him playing for Scotland as he was eligible through his father.
19.
Craig Johnston did represent England at under-21 level against Norway in September 1980 at The Dell and against the Republic of Ireland at Anfield in February 1981.
20.
Craig Johnston had suffered from butane gas inhalation from a faulty heater in her hotel.
21.
Craig Johnston was at the club's Christmas party when hearing the news.
22.
Craig Johnston flew out and brought her back to London by air ambulance.
23.
Craig Johnston woke on New Year's eve, after three weeks in coma.
24.
Craig Johnston made his 271st and final appearance as a red, as a substitute for John Aldridge in the final thus ending up on the losing side.
25.
Craig Johnston always retorted this speculation stating that he could never play for anyone other than Liverpool.
26.
However, Craig Johnston then filmed German legends Franz Beckenbauer, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Paul Breitner using the boots in snowy conditions, which led to Adidas agreeing to the proposal.
27.
Craig Johnston later designed another innovative boot called The Pig or, to give them their full title, the Patented Interactive Grip can come as a 'skin' that can be placed over the toe of an existing boot.
28.
Craig Johnston invented the Traxion sole for football boots and the software program the 'Butler,' a device that shows what has been removed from minibars in hotel bedrooms.
29.
Craig Johnston invested heavily in a football school idea for inner city children but failed to win expected business backing and went bankrupt.
30.
Craig Johnston was the creator of TV game show The Main Event, which aired for two years in the early 1990s in Australia and a season in the UK in 1993.
31.
Craig Johnston has been recognised at home for his achievements in England.
32.
On 18 June 2006, Craig Johnston made an appearance as a guest on The Footy Show World Cup Spectacular in Germany revealing information on his career.
33.
In 2005, Craig Johnston was inducted into the Football Australia Hall of Fame.
34.
Craig Johnston has now forged a new career as a photographer.