The Swan Districts grand final success of 1961 had many heroes, with names such as Bunton, Maynard, Lawson, Bagley, Walker, Slater, Castledine, Turnbull,Litterick, Kelleher, and Gray now part of the club's folklore, but another whose contribution to the upset inaugural flag cannot be under rated was a man who hadn't secured a regular berth in the side prior to the game, and hardly played afterward.Lindsay Johnston was to become better known in later years as a highly respected umpire, but he will also be remembered at Bassendean for his efforts in the final pressure packed quarter of the grand final, when his three goals in ten minutes broke the back of the Royals, and the Swan Valley began a week long party. Johnston was recruited by Swans from Kalgoorlie, where his efforts as a forward and ruck rover attracted attention from several league clubs. “Swans were the ones who kept in touch with me, but the clincher was a job in the menswear department of Freecorn's store in Midland, where Swans President Dick Retallack was the manager,” Lindsay told us. “There was some haggling over a clearance, with Railways claiming they had been offered a dozen footballs, and Swans in denial. A compromise was reached, however, and Railways duly received six balls.”He has high praise for two coaches in Kalgoorlie and one in Perth. “Bob Martin and Vin Zani were terrific teachers of the game to a young bloke, and when I landed in Bassendean, Percy Johnson was a great mentor, albeit as a rival junior coach.” Johnston coached the Midland under nineteens soon after arriving in Perth, and Percy was guiding Midvale.Johnston played most of his initial season at Swan Districts in the reserves, with a couple of league appearances. It was a bleak season in 1960, with only two wins, one against grand finalist East Perth, and the other over semi finalist South Fremantle. Lindsay hovered between league and reserves, in a variety of positions, and in 1961 began the season as vice captain of the reserves. Bunton pulled a rabbit out of the hat when he named Johnston at full forward for the last qualifying game of the season. “We hadn't settled on a goalsneak all year, and Bunt saw it as a must for a quick fix,” said Johnston. Not prominent in that match, Johnston was there again for the second semi final, when, although he bagged a couple in the first half, the kicking from Swans was atrocious, and they went to the half time break at two goals nine behinds, which, against a class side like East Perth was fatal. A five goal haul in the preliminary final ensured Lindsay a spot in the grand final, and the rest is history.Johnston injured his back in an early round of the 1962 season, when, landing heavily on his spine after being dumped in a game against Claremont, he was left barely able to walk, and decided to take up umpiring. Country appointments were the learning curve for all aspiring league umpires, and Johnston was no exception. Travel to far flung areas in all sorts of conditions were par for the course. Lindsay told of one such experience, when he was caught in a flood in the Eastern Wheatbelt. “With fellow umpire Max Clements, I was booked at the Kukerin Hotel for a Saturday night, after officiating at a game in the afternoon in freezing cold conditions with heavy rain,” he said. “That night over a few beers in the pub with a group of people, including ex Swans man Joe Pearce, and local farmer, Owen Mott, the discussion centred on the floods that were increasing in the area, and the dangers associated with the severe weather conditions.  “You'd have to be a bit silly,” I said, “to be caught in a flood.” “The following day off I went by myself to Lake Grace, Max's game having been washed out. Returning to Kukerin in the driving rain and darkness of a winter's evening, I must have missed the turnoff, and on I went, with the puddles growing bigger and deeper, until I realised I was actually in a lake, floating in my Volkswagen. Winding the windows down to get out of the car, the water poured in. A non swimmer, I was struggling to keep my head above water, when I spotted a light, eventually coming face to face with a bloke on a tractor. “Well,well,well,” was his greeting. “Who's the silly bugger now?”  “My saviour was Owen Mott, who was witness to my rash statement the previous evening.” “I had been given a few boxes of mushrooms, and they were floating around the VW.”“The laughs were on me that night. The power of the bush telegraph was never more evident than that weekend, because despite the breakdown of communications in and out of Kukerin, the story made the Monday afternoon Daily News.”In 1965, Johnston's career as a league umpire took off, in a game between East Perth and Subiaco. It was a good debut in what turned out to be a good year for the ex footballer turned whistleblower, winning a media award as best first year umpire, and officiating in the first semi final. “I received great support from ex player, umpire, and coach, Mick Cronin, who would call into the shop on his way to the races during the week to discuss the games with me,” he said.In 1968, Johnston took a twelve month break, and was snapped up by Channel Nine for a football show with Neil Garland, Ray Sorrell, and Charlie Skehan, while returning to the field with Herne Hill, in the South Midland Association, before they changed their name to become Swan Athletic.Johnston's year off must have been beneficial, because he was appointed umpire of the 1969 second semi final between East Perth and West Perth, followed by the same game the following year, between South Fremantle and Perth, as well as the “Championship of Australia” between respective premiers Carlton and Sturt. He topped that in 1971 with both the second semi final and the grand final, and  officiated in the 1972 Perth  Australian Football Carnival before suffering leg injuries.  Deciding to hang the whistle up because of his leg problems, Johnston decided to make the Goldfields grand final his encore, to end his onfield football career where it started.  However the WANFL Umpires Board had other ideas, and persuaded him to take control of the Upper Great Southern grand final in Narrogin between Railways and Wickepin. “I'm glad I did, it was a fantastic game,” he said. Not quite finished with football, Lindsay coached Swan Valley in 1978, recruiting a couple of handy future Swans in Ian Williams and Mike Richardson, and taking them to a premiership.A director of Swan Districts from 1979 to 1985, Johnston also served as President of their Life Members Association for three years.  Lindsay regarded Con Regan(East Fremantle) and Laurie Kettlewell(Subiaco) as the hardest to beat, while Haydn Bunton, Billy Walker, Ken Bagley, Joe Lawson, Keith Slater, and Fred Castledine rank as best he played with, while throwing in Polly Farmer and Ray Sorrell as best he'd seen. In the world of umpiring, he said the best he'd played under was Len Gardner, but from the perspective of an umpire, he rated Ray Scott as the top.A Judge's Associate with the District Court for twenty four years, Lindsay Johnston is now retired, but manages to keep himself occupied with Midland- Guildford Cricket Club, as manager of their second side, while attending as many Swans games as he can, as well as spending time with wife, Eva. The three Johnston boys all played football, David, Graeme, and Darron all lining up with Swan Athletic.   A couple of anecdotes from Lindsay: “Brownie would say, “If I abuse you I owe you a middy,” and at the end of the game he'd ask,”how many?”  And he'd always pay up.”“Umpiring a colts game one day in front of hardly anyone, and a young Claremont supporter of about twelve looked me in the eye and yelled:”I've seen a better head on a boil.”Lindsay Johnston umpired ninety one games of WANFL league football, including one grand finals plus an Australian Football Carnival and a championship match between Carlton and Sturt. He was a well respected whistle blower, with spectators, officials, and players, because of his knowledge of the game and the commonsense manner he carried out his duties. And then there was the sixty one grand final.....