Billy Boston

Sir William John Boston (6 August 1934 – 24 August 2026) was a Welsh professional rugby league footballer who played as a winger or centre. Born and raised in Cardiff, Wales, Boston started his career as a rugby union player before joining Wigan in 1953. Regarded as one of the sport's greatest ever players, Boston scored 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 in 31 Test matches, scoring 24 tries, and was part of the team that won the 1960 Rugby League World Cup. He became one of the original inductees of three halls of fame, namely 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, became an MBE, was knighted in June 2025, and had a stand named after him at both Central Park and the Wigan Athletic Stadium.