Sir Billy Boston, the Welsh rugby player who became one of the greatest try-scorers in British rugby league history, has died at the age of 92. The Cardiff-born icon passed away overnight in hospital in Wigan, his adopted home for the past 74 years, just weeks after the death of his wife, Lady Joan.
The Welsh Rugby Union confirmed the news on Tuesday, stating: "Sir Billy Boston, one of the best loved and most iconic figures in the history of Welsh sport, has passed away peacefully at the age of 92." The statement added: "The most famous son of Tiger Bay, he died overnight in hospital in his adopted home for the past 74 years, Wigan. His death came only four days after the funeral of his wife, Lady Joan, to whom he had been married for 70 years."
A record-breaking career
Boston plundered 478 tries for Wigan and touched down 571 times in 562 first-class matches overall. He won the World Cup with Great Britain in 1960, as well as three Challenge Cups. His record of 478 tries for the club, surpassing Johnny Ring's tally of 368, still stands to this day.
Making his Wigan debut at 19, he scored his first try against Barrow in November 1953. By the summer of 1954, he was chosen to tour Australia by the Great Britain selectors, playing in all five Tests and scoring 36 tries in 18 matches, including seven hat-tricks. He also equalled the record for the most tries in a Test match, scoring four against New Zealand in Auckland.
With Wigan, he won the Challenge Cup in 1958 and 1965, and ran in two tries in the 1960 Championship final. He also won two Lancashire Leagues and one Lancashire Cup. For Great Britain, he earned 31 Test caps, scoring 24 times, and played one match for Wales against France B. His 571 tries is bettered only by Australian Brian Bevan among rugby league's most prolific scorers.
A trailblazer for black sports stars
Born in Butetown in 1934, Boston initially dreamed of playing rugby union for Cardiff and Wales at the Arms Park. He played for Cardiff Schools, winning the Dewar Shield in 1949, and became the first black player to play representative rugby union for Wales, turning out for the Boys Clubs of Wales and the Wales Youth teams in 1952. He captained the former against England in Neath, scoring a hat-trick in a 32-0 win.
At senior level, he played for Neath and Pontypridd before heading north for National Service, when Wigan signed him professionally. Having turned down offers of £1,000 and then £1,500, his mother, Nellie, asked for £3,000 to deter the club—but they agreed. Boston admitted years later that he cried that night, with his dream of playing for Cardiff and Wales gone.
Knighted last year
Just last year, Boston became the first player from rugby league to be knighted. At the time, former Wales rugby league international Jim Mills said that Boston "is rugby league" in the north of England. He had previously been made an MBE in 1986.
Following retirement, Boston became a publican in Wigan and received the freedom of the town in 2000. Statues stand in his honour in Wigan and at Wembley, where he lifted three Challenge Cups, and another was unveiled in Cardiff alongside fellow league legends Clive Sullivan and Gus Risman. Boston was diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2016 at the age of 82. Last month, Lady Joan passed away at 90; her funeral took place in Wigan on Friday.
