Weber State University Athletics
Hall of Fame - Lyle Johnston
3/10/2015 6:54:00 PM | Wildcat Club
Lyle Johnston
Football, Baseball (1963-65)
Inducted January 1988
A talented two-sport athlete from Hooper, Utah, Lyle Johnston displayed all-around skills on the gridiron and the diamond in the 1960s.
Johnston, at 5-foot-10 and 185 pounds was a top punter in the Big Sky Conference, earning First Team All-Big Sky honors in 1965. He holds the single-season punt average record with a 46.2 yards per kick average set in 1965. He holds the WSU single-game punt average record (53.1 yards per kick average vs. Northern Arizona), and owns the fifth-longest punt in school history 73 yards) set in the same game.
Johnston, a former standout at Weber High School, ranked third in the nation in punting in 1964 and 1965. Under Coach Wally Nalder and later Sark Arslanian, he also was the Wildcats' starting defensive back in 1963, '64 and '65. He led the Big Sky Conference with five interceptions in 1963, helping the Wildcats post an 8-1-0 record in 1965, the school's best record.
Johnston was a First Team All-Big Sky Conference baseball player in 1964. The Wildcats center fielder batted .500 his senior season. He was named the WSU Athlete of the Year for the 1965-66 season.
Johnston went on to play football for the Los Angeles Rams in 1965, then went on to play for the Kansas City Chiefs in 1967 and 1968.