In 271 games in all competitions for English giants Liverpool, one of the biggest clubs in the world, the Lake Macquarie junior inspired a generation of Australian players to test themselves against the best overseas.

But the price Johnston, now 53, paid for rising to legendary status with the Reds was never gaining a Socceroos cap.

That decision meant Johnston was, up until this year, ineligible to gain a place in the Hunter Region Sporting Hall of Fame, which has welcomed the best from goalball to football, hang-gliding to race riding and hockey to harness racing for more than 20 years.

However, Johnston, arguably our most famous footballing product of any code,  was unable to gain entry because he did meet the criteria of holding a national title in open company or representing Australia at the highest level.

That will change tomorrow  at Souths Leagues Club when  Johnston, 26 years after his last game, is finally recognised along with another 11 new faces into the Hunter hall of fame at the 23rd induction ceremony.

The Hall of Fame, an initiative of the Hunter Academy of Sport, changed its criteria in the past 12 months to allow Johnston and other exceptional cases onto the now 328-member honour roll.

Academy chairman Ken Clifford said the 12-person Hall of Fame committee could now use its own discretion to induct outstanding sportspeople who have not meet the basic criteria.

Johnston is in England visiting an ill friend and will be unable to attend the induction ceremony.

 However, his youngest daughter Harley and his mother Dorothy will be on hand for what Johnston told Weekender from London this week would be ‘‘a very nice occasion for the family’’. 

‘‘It’s a huge honour to receive the induction and I’m grateful to Ken Clifford and the other directors,’’ Johnston said.

‘‘Unfortunately I couldn’t play for Australia. Things were different back then. ‘‘I had to make a choice, play first team football in England or not.

‘‘So I’m delighted that academy has recognised that.

‘‘There’s been various awards I’ve said no to over the years on principle but this is something I’m very proud of.’’

Even though he never played for his country, Johnston said he has always considered himself a proud Australian on the world’s biggest stage.

‘‘Every time I pulled on the Liverpool shirt  I felt like I was representing my country and my city,’’ he said.

‘‘Being a proud Aussie, that’s how I always felt and I still do.’’

Johnston said the hall of fame’s connection to the Hunter Academy of Sport, which promotes a holistic approach to developing the region’s rising sports stars, added significance to the honour.

‘‘The academy does a wonderful job and the older I get the more I realise the power of sport,’’ he said.

‘‘It does a power of good for the community and the Hunter Academy of Sport does a wonderful job instilling the right message to the kids – that life is about helping each other.

‘‘Sport is about togetherness, it’s not just about winning and losing. My friends from Lake Macquarie High School and the guys I played soccer with then are still my friends.’’

The timing of the induction also has meaning to Johnston, who hopes to spend more time in Australia after the World Cup this year and establish his own coaching academy in the Hunter.

‘‘The idea is to spend more and more time at home in Australia with mum and the kids. That’s the plan so the award comes at a timely point because I want to spend more time where I’m from. That’s always been the goal.

‘‘I’ve always had a dream to open a Johnston Academy and we’ve gone a long way down the path to doing that.

‘‘That’s what I want to pick up on. It gives me motivation and desire to come back and stay for much longer.’’

Johnston will join Jim Black (judo), Josh Blair (surf lifesaving), Roger Clements (surfing), Michael Jenkinson (rugby union), Lloma Laws (pistol shooting), John Levick (croquet), Adam Muir (rugby league), Deborah Pugh (barefoot waterskiing), Jack Threadgate (motor sports) and Colyn Whitehead (basketball) in joining the hall on Sunday.

Their accomplishments:

 JIM BLACK (Judo)

 Black won the 1966 Australian lightweight judo title, 10 years after he started in the martial art. He represented Australia the same year at the oceania championships in Sydney, where he finished second, and in 1967 at the  world titles in Utah. Black was the first judo player from the Hunter to win a national title and represent Australia. Outside competition, Black introduced the sport to Newcastle PCYC in 1958 and was a coach there for almost 40 years. He formed the Hunter Valley Judo Association and was its president for 20 years.

 JOSH BLAIR (Surf Lifesaving) 

The Swansea-Belmont club competitor was the region’s leading ironman in the late 1990s and early 2000s. An under 16 and 18 national ironman champion, Blair became the youngest person to qualify for the national ironman series at 16 years and 47 days old. He went on to win seven races in his years on the circuit with a best overall season finish of second. He also won the state ironman title in 2000 and racked up 12 Hunter branch crowns in the format along with many successes in other disciplines. He won an Australian open title as part of Swansea-Belmont’s board relay  team and finished third in a world short-course ironman event.

 ROGER CLEMENTS (Surfing) 

Clements won many local, regional and state titles in surfing, starting with the Newcastle junior crown in 1969. He won the 1981 national senior championship and captained the Australian team that year on a tour of England but lists his competitive highlight as the 1970 Australian open title. Out of the water, Clements received the Duke Kahanamoku award for services to administration at the 2003 Surfing Australia Hall of Fame awards and is well known in Newcastle for his work in the media.

 MICHAEL JENKINSON (Rugby Union) 

A lightweight hooker from the Wanderers club in Newcastle, Jenkinson played nine times for the Wallabies on the tour of South Africa in 1963. He represented Newcastle and NSW Country each year between 1963 and 1967. He was part of three Wanderers’ premiership wins and led Newcastle to the NSW Country Caldwell Cup title in ’67. Jenkinson went on to become a successful author.

 LLOMA LAWS (Pistol Shooting) 

Laws started shooting with the Cessnock Pistol Club in 1991 and four years later was part of the NSW team that won the national ladies air pistol and sport pistol titles. They won again in 1996. In 1997, Laws represented Australia at the Oceania Games and World Cup. In 2003, she again made Australia’s Oceania Games side and was also in the national team to tour India. She won numerous state titles before retiring in 2003.

 JOHN LEVICK (Croquet) 

Levick started playing croquet in 1986 and golf croquet in 2005. He has gone on to win multiple national titles and represented Australia world events overseas five times. He has also captained NSW four times at the Interstate Shield, leading his state to their first victory in the annual competition. Levick has won 20 Newcastle Park club championships.

 ADAM MUIR (Rugby League) 

The Belmont product played 99 first grade games for the Newcastle Knights from 1992 to 1997, ending his time at the club with a grand final victory over Manly. The back-rower went on to play for North Sydney, Northern Eagles and South Sydney, taking his top grade tally to 184 games. He represented NSW Country Origin twice, NSW 13 times and Australia on three occasions. Muir was named in 1997 in the Knights team of the decade and in 2007 in their team of the era.

 MEGAN OMAN (Hockey) 

Oman (nee Sargeant) represented Australia with the Hockeyroos at open level 22 times. Among those appearances, the tall defender was part of the Hockeyroos’ Champions Trophy campaigns in 2001 and 2002. The daughter of Olympic swimmer Barbara Sargeant (nee Evans), she also represented Australia at under 18 and 21 levels and was a member of the NSW open side from 1996 to 2002.

 DEBORAH PUGH (Barefoot Waterskiing) 

Pugh won the Australian women’s championship six times between 1980 and 1989 and went on to compete at the world titles four times. The Adamstown resident also secured four national masters crowns and was a 10-time NSW open champion, winning all but one of the annual competitions held between 1980 and 1990.

 JACK THREADGATE (Motor Sports)

The Cessnock driver won the national TQ dirt track title in 1969 and 1970. TQ stood for three-quarter midgets, which was a category of open-wheel race car later known as Formula 500s. The Australian championships in Bundaberg, Queensland, and Latrobe, Tasmania, came after Threadgate found success at Hunter Region and Sydney speedway events.

 COLYN WHITEHEAD (Basketball) 

Whitehead was selected in the 1960 Australian Olympic basketball team alongside fellow Novocastrian Terry Charlton after helping NSW to the 1959 national championship final, where they lost to South Australia. He also represented NSW at senior level in 1957 and made the under-18 side in 1955. Whitehead was also an accomplished cricketer, representing Newcastle and NSW Country as a fast bowler.