Sir William John Boston (born 6 August 1934) is a Welsh former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

player who played as a or . Born and raised in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, Wales, Boston started his career as a

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player before joining

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

in 1953. Regarded as one of the sport's greatest ever players, Boston scored a total of 571 tries in his career, making him the second-highest try scorer in rugby league history. Boston spent 15 years of his career at Wigan to which he is most well known, where he scored a club-record 478 tries in his 488 appearances for the club. He finished his career at Blackpool Borough before retiring in 1970. Internationally, he represented

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

in 31 Test matches, scoring 24 tries, and was part of the team that won the 1960 Rugby League World Cup.

Early life

Born on 6 August 1934 at Angelina Street,

Butetown Butetown (or ''The Docks'', ) is a district and community (Wales), community in the south of the city of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. It was originally a model housing estate built in the early 19th century by John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marqu ...

, Boston was the sixth of eleven children born to John Boston (a merchant seaman from

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

) and Nellie who came from Cardiff's Irish community.

Rugby career

Boston began his career in

with the newly formed Cardiff Internationals Athletic Club (CIACS; pronounced "kayaks"). Boston also represented the Cardiff Schoolboys team in the late 1940s and went on to represent Wales in both the boys clubs' internationals and at Youth level. The young Boston was an integral part of the CIACs "invincible" season of 1951–52, where the team won all of their 32 games. During this time, Boston was attracting attention from two famous Welsh clubs, with Neath RFC give him a trial in 1950 and

Pontypridd RFC Pontypridd Rugby Football Club () is a rugby union team from Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It competes in the Admiral Premiership and the WRU Premiership Cup, a trophy which they won for the 7th time in 2025. Their last league title ...

in 1952. His first-class rugby union debut was for Neath against Penarth on 2 December 1950. His single appearance for Pontypridd was on 26 December 1952 against Cheltenham when he scored Pontypridd's only try in a 12–3 defeat. However no offer came from Cardiff, with the club having passed on other black and mixed race players (like Johnny Freeman and

Colin Dixon Colin J. Dixon (3 December 1943 – 21 June 1993) was a Welsh rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and coach (sport), coached in the 1970s. He played club level rugby union (RU) foCardiff International Athletic Club ...

), it has since been suggested that the club had issues with racism. Boston was called up for

National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

with the

Royal Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications an ...

at Catterick,

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, which saw him scouted by a number of rugby league clubs. On 13 March 1953

chairman Joe Taylor and vice-chairman Billy Gore travelled to Boston's home in Cardiff and offered him £1,000 to sign for them. Although that was very large offer, Boston's mother rejected it on his behalf. A second offer of £1,500 was made in cash and the money was spread out on the table in five pound notes to show the family how much money it was. Boston later stated that he still didn't want to sign the contract and his mother told him "Don't worry son, I'll get rid of them for you. I'll ask them for so much that they'll go home." Boston's mother told the delegation that Billy would only sign for £3,000, double the increased offer (). Within a minute the delegation agreed to the terms. Boston stated that he still did not want to sign, but his mother had given their word and Boston signed the contract. Boston later told one journalist that he cried after signing for

as he knew his dreams of playing rugby union for Cardiff and Wales were over, because any player at the time who played rugby league, was banned from playing rugby union. Boston made his first team debut for Wigan against Barrow in November 1953 scoring a try. Boston played at in Wigan's 13–9 victory over

Workington Town Workington Town is a semi-professional rugby league club based in Workington, West Cumbria, England. The club plays home games at Derwent Park and competes in the RFL League One, League One, the third tier of British rugby league system, Briti ...

in the 1957–58 Challenge Cup Final at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

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on Saturday 10 May 1958, in front of a crowd of 66,109. Boston played in Wigan's 8–13 defeat by

Oldham Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk, Irk and River Medlock, Medlock, southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative cent ...

in the 1957–58 Lancashire Cup Final at Station Road, Swinton on Saturday 19 October 1957. He played on the and scored two- tries in the 30–13 victory over Hull F.C. in the 1958–59 Challenge Cup Final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 9 May 1959, in front of a crowd of 79,811. Boston scored two tries in Wigan's 1959–60 Northern Rugby Football League season Championship final victory. Boston played on the in the 20–16 victory over

Hunslet Hunslet () is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is southeast of the Leeds city centre, city centre and has an industrial past. It is situated in the Hunslet and Riverside (ward), Hunslet and Riverside ward of Lee ...

in the 1964–65 Challenge Cup Final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 8 May 1965, in front of a crowd of 89,016. Towards the end of his career, Boston played for Blackpool Borough, making his final appearance in 1970. He scored a total of 571 tries in his career, making him the second highest all-time try scorer in the history of the game after

Brian Bevan Brian Eyrl Bevan (24 January 1924 – 3 June 1991), also known by the nickname of "Wing Wizard", was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. He became the only player ever to be inducted int ...

. Boston became one of fewer than twenty-five Welshmen to have scored more than 1,000-points in their rugby league career. During his time at Wigan, he beat Johnny Ring's record of 368 tries, going on to score a record still held to this day of 478 for the club. Boston also twice equalled the then Wigan club record of seven tries in a game, only surpassed since by

Martin Offiah Martin Nwokocha Offiah MBE ( (''original pronunciation''), (''commonly used'')); born 29 December 1965) is an English former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Offiah was inducted ...

and Shaun Edwards.

International career

Boston played 31 test matches for

and was the first player to score four tries in a game, against New Zealand. He was the first non-white player to be selected for a Lions tour, doing so on their tour Australia and New Zealand in 1954, on which he set a new record of 36 tries in 18 games. Boston also played in the 1962 tour, scoring a further 22 tries. Boston also represented Other Nationalities in the 1955–56 European Rugby League Championship. He also played at for them in a friendly, a 2–19 defeat by St. Helens at Knowsley Road, St. Helens on Wednesday 27 January 1965, to mark the switching-on of new

floodlight A floodlight is a broad-beamed, high-intensity artificial light. It can provide functional area lighting for travel-ways, parking, entrances, work areas, and sporting venues to enable visibility adequate for safe task performance, ornament ...

After retirement

After finishing his playing career, he took over the running of the Griffin Hotel pub near Central Park until his retirement. Boston became one of the original inductee of three hall of fames: the Rugby Football League Hall of Fame in 1988, the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Wigan Warriors Hall of Fame in 1998 Boston was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the 1996 Birthday Honours "for services to the community in Wigan, Greater Manchester." The Billy Boston Stand at Central Park was named in his honour. Similarly, the East Stand at the DW Stadium was officially renamed after Billy Boston in 2009. However, landlords

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

later renamed the stand in October 2021. In 2016, Boston was diagnosed with

vascular dementia Vascular dementia is dementia caused by a series of strokes. Restricted blood flow due to strokes reduces oxygen and glucose delivery to the brain, causing cell injury and neurological deficits in the affected region. Subtypes of vascular dement ...

. The same year, he was one of five players to feature on the rugby league statue at

. A second statue of him was unveiled a month later in Wigan. In December 2020 Boston was named as one of three Welsh rugby league players to be honoured with a new statue in

Cardiff Bay Cardiff Bay (; colloquially "The Bay") is an area and freshwater lake in Cardiff, Wales. The site of a former tidal bay and estuary, it is the river mouth of the River Taff and River Ely, Ely. The body of water was converted into a lake as part ...

, the other two being

Gus Risman Augustus "Gus" John Ferdinand Risman (21 March 1911 – 17 October 1994) was a Welsh professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s through to the 1950s, and coached in the 1940s through to the 1970s. A devastating three-quarter ...

and Clive Sullivan. The third statue of him was unveiled in July 2023. On 10 June 2025, Boston became the first ever rugby league player to receive a knighthood for service to the sport, as part of the

2025 Birthday Honours The 2025 King's Birthday and Operational Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of Charles III, King Charles III to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good ...

. Boston's investiture took place before the official announcement of the honour, due to uncertainty over Boston's health. The

London Gazette London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...

notice announcing the knighthood, dated 14 June 2025, noted that it was backdated to 10 June 2025.

Honours

Wigan Warriors

* First Division ** Winners (1): 1959–60 *

Challenge Cup The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's old ...

** Winners (3): 1957–58, 1958–59, 1964–65 * Lancashire League ** Winners (2): 1958–59, 1961–62 * Lancashire Cup ** Winners (1): 1966–67

Great Britain

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

** Winners (1):

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

* Ashes Series ** Winners (3): 1956-57, 1959-60,

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

Other Nationalities

* European Championship ** Winners (1): 1955–56

Honours

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

: ** MBE:

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

(services to the community of Wigan, Greater Manchester) *

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

(services to rugby league football)

Notes

References

External links

Billy Boston Statistics at wigan.rlfans.com
*(archived by web.archive.org

*(archived by web.archive.org
Billy Boston at Ponty.net
*(archived by web.archive.org) *(archived by web.archive.org
Billy Boston at wales.rleague.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boston, Billy 1934 births Living people 20th-century British Army personnel 20th-century Welsh sportsmen Army rugby union players Black British sportsmen Blackpool Borough players British people of Irish descent Footballers who switched code Great Britain national rugby league team players Knights Bachelor Members of the Order of the British Empire Neath RFC players Other Nationalities rugby league team players People from Butetown Pontypridd RFC players Royal Corps of Signals soldiers Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Cardiff Rugby league wingers Rugby union players from Cardiff Sierra Leone Creole people Sportspeople of Sierra Leonean descent Welsh people of Sierra Leonean descent Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players Wigan Warriors players Welsh knights