Rex Johnston Autographs
Rex David Johnston (November 8, 1937 – December 15, 2019) was an American professional athlete who played Major League Baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates and in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He is the only athlete to have played for both of Pittsburgh's iconic baseball and football teams. He attended the University of Southern California, where he played both sports, standing 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and weighing 202 pounds (92 kg) during his active career.
A switch-hitting outfielder who threw right-handed, Johnston signed with the Pirates in 1959 and spent five full seasons in Pittsburgh's minor league system before making the Bucs' varsity out of spring training in 1964. MLB teams were then allowed to carry three extra players on their roster for the first 30 days of the season, and Johnston appeared in 14 games as a leftfielder, centerfielder, pinch hitter and pinch runner between April 15 and May 11. He logged ten plate appearances and drew three bases on balls, but went hitless in seven at bats. In his only Major League start, as a centerfielder on May 2 against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium, Johnston came to the plate five times against southpaws Curt Simmons and Bobby Shantz; he walked once, reached on an error, and grounded out three times. His baseball career continued at the Triple-A level through 1966, and he batted .266 with 59 home runs in 938 minor league games.
Johnston played halfback in college for USC. In 1960, when he was struggling as a baseball player at the Class C level in the Pirates' system, he was invited to try out for the NFL Steelers. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Johnston called Branch Rickey, Jr., the Pirates' farm system director, seeking permission to play pro football as well as baseball. "I'll never forget what he said: 'Rex, I look at your stats every day. If you've got something else to do, you'd better do it,'" Johnston recalled in 2004. Ironically, Johnston immediately started hitting, was promoted twice to Class B and Class A, and ended the season batting a respectable .275 before reporting to the Steelers late in training camp. Johnston played the full, 12-game NFL schedule for the 1960 Steelers, almost exclusively as a kickoff and punt returner. He averaged 21.8 yards in 18 kickoff returns (longest 38 yards) and 3.8 yards in 12 punt returns (longest 14 yards) and scored no touchdowns. As a halfback, he carried four times for 12 yards. It was his only season in pro football.
Read more about Rex Johnston on Wikipedia
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Current items with a signature of Rex Johnston
These are the most current items with a signature of Rex Johnston that were listed on eBay and on other online stores - click here for more items.
| Picture | Item Title | Price | Store |
 | Rex Johnston Signed 1983 ONW One Year Winners Card Auto JSA Pre-Cert *X1728 | $15.85 |  |
Traded items with a signature of Rex Johnston
The most expensive item with a signature of Rex Johnston (Rex Johnston Pittsburgh Pirates 1983 Fritsch OYW #59 Autographed Baseball Card) was sold in August 2025 for $90.00 while the cheapest item (Rex Johnston 1964 Pittsburgh Pirates Signed 3x5) found a new owner for $0.50 in June 2010. The month with the most items sold (2) was June 2010 with an average selling price of $0.75 for an autographed item of Rex Johnston. Sold items reached their highest average selling price in August 2025 with $90.00 and the month that saw the lowest prices with $0.75 was June 2010. In average, an autographed item from Rex Johnston is worth $4.99.
Most recently, these items with a signature of Rex Johnston were sold on eBay - click here for more items.
| Picture | Item Title | Price | Store |
 | (2) REX JOHNSTON INDEX CARD SIGNED 1960 STEELERS 1964 PIRATES PSA/DNA CERTIFIED | $20.00 |  |
 | -Rex Johnston- (d.2019) Signed/Autograph/Auto Index Card Pittsburgh Pirates MLB | $4.99 | |
| 1964 Rex Johnston Autograph Index Card! Very Rare! Debut Year Signed! | $12.99 | |
| Pittsburgh Pirates Signed Baseball Card~Rex Johnston~Fritsch OYW~ | $5.14 | |
| REX JOHNSTON(D-2019)Signed Trimmed Index Card w/8 1/2 x 11 Display w/Obit/Photo | $24.99 | |
| Rex Johnston (1937-2019) signed 3x5 | $4.00 | |
| REX JOHNSTON 1983 FRITSCH ONE YEAR WINNERS AUTOGRAPH SIGNED CARD #59 | $14.99 | |
| Rex Johnston Autographed 1983 One Year Winners Auto Signed Autograph OYW Pirates | $8.99 | |
| Rex Johnston MLB Pittsburg Pirates (1964) One Year Wonder SIGNED CARD AUTOGRAPH | $40.00 | |
| Rex Johnston MLB Pittsburgh Pirates 1964 One Year Wonder SIGNED CARD AUTOGRAPHED | $39.99 | |
| Rex Johnston Pittsburgh Pirates 1983 Fritsch OYW #59 Autographed Baseball Card | $90.00 | |
| Rex Johnston signed 1964 Pittsburgh Pirates MLB Vintage Index Card JSA | $0.95 | |
| Rex Johnston signed 3x5 | $1.25 | |
| Rex Johnston signed 3x5 | $3.90 | |
| Rex Johnston signed autographed 3x5 index card B2003 | $7.00 | |
