Johnston, "Neil" (Donald Neil)
Basketball
b. Feb. 4, 1929, Chillicothe, OH
After playing basketball at Ohio State for two seasons, Johnston signed with the Philadelphia Phillies organization as a pitcher in 1949. He spent two summers playing in the minor leagues while getting his degree, but could no longer play college sports because he was competing as a professional.
The Philadelphia Warriors of the NBA signed Johnston in 1951. He was used only as a substitute in his first year but then became a starter and averaged more than 20 points a game for five consecutive seasons, leading the NBA in scoring three years in a row, 1953-55. He also led in field goal accuracy three times and was the league's top rebounder in 1954-55.
The 6-foot-8, 200-pound center did most of his scoring with an accurate and virtually unstoppable hook shot. He was an NBA first-team all-star four times. A knee injury during the 1958-59 season ended his playing career but he became coach of the Warriors for two seasons, starting in 1960, winning 95 games and losing 59.
In 1961, Johnston became player-coach of the Pittsburgh Condors in the American Basketball League. However, he played just 5 games because of his bad knee. Johnston had 53 wins and 50 losses before being fired during the 1962-63 season.