Sir Billy Boston was a giant of a man, who spoke with gentleness and humility and self-deprecation and who bequeathed a gift to the sport of Rugby League that will last far beyond the records he set and the tries he scored and the entertainment he provided to millions as a player for Wigan.

Sir Billy, who died on Tuesday at the age of 92, was a breaker of barriers, a man who deserves to be remembered in the same company as heroes like Jackie Robinson, major league baseball’s first black player in the modern era, and Arthur Ashe, who swept away so many prejudices in the game of tennis.

Boston became the first non-white player to represent Great Britain on a Lions tour in 1954. He scored 36 tries in 18 appearances in Australia and New Zealand, and played in 31 international Test matches.

The numbers say that he scored 478 tries in 488 matches for Wigan and played in six Challenge Cup finals for the team but his standing in the game and in the world of sport as a whole, the way he carried himself, the way he wore his greatness lightly, made him a hero to many more.

‘Heartbroken to hear my friend Sir Billy Boston has died,’ prime minister Andy Burnham wrote yesterday. ‘Billy was one of the greatest Rugby League players of all time but also one of the kindest and most down-to-earth people you could ever wish to meet. He always had time for people and gave so much to back to his adopted home, Wigan…A giant of a man in every way.’

For the first 130 years of Rugby League’s existence, the establishment did not judge a single one of its players worthy of a knighthood and the omission felt like a sign of society’s disregard and disdain for the sport.

In the same period, rugby union was awarded 20 knighthoods, yachting 12, motor racing eight, horse racing eight and sheep shearing one. It had begun to feel as if rugby league was a pariah.

But two years ago, Billy Boston changed that. His stature was such that he had already had three statues in his honour - in Cardiff, where he was born, at Wembley, where he played in those Challenge Cup finals, and in Wigan, where he lived for the last 72 years of his life – and then there came the final symbolism of the knighthood.

I met him in a hotel on Piccadilly, in London, on the eve of the ceremony at Buckingham Palace in June 2025. He was accompanied to London by Wigan Warriors owner Mike Danson and club legend Kris Radlinski, now Wigan’s chief executive. Boston was 90 by then and a little frail but he still carried himself like a king of old.

Wigan have indicated that they will pay tribute to Boston ahead of their Betfred Super League match against Hull KR on Thursday night and that day in London, Danson and Radlinski both radiated pride in him.

They knew what a hero he was to so many. They knew what he meant to fans of the sport and beyond. They knew he was a crossover star. ‘We’ve just never had that breakthrough moment before,’ Radlinski said.

‘One of the problems is we promote humility and create these humble guys, but we actually need them to be superstars. One thing about rugby league in our town and many northern teams is everybody lives in the town and access is unbelievable. So it’s your biggest strength, but also your biggest weakness.’

Danson also pointed out that only a small percentage of knighthoods are earned by people from the north. If you are northern and working class, that percentage shrinks even more. Boston smashed through that barrier, as well. His death came only four days after the funeral of his wife, Lady Joan, to whom he had been married for 70 years.

Boston grew up playing rugby union before switching codes to sign for Wigan in 1953 at the age of 19 and graced the sport throughout the 50s and 60s. The Welsh Rugby Union paid tribute to him, too, yesterday, and Wigan head coach Matt Peel praised one of the town’s favourite sons.

'Billy Boston is woven into the fabric of this club,’ Peel said. ‘Every day we walk through the doors, we’re reminded that we have a responsibility to represent all those who have gone before us and made Wigan Warriors what it is today. Billy stands at the very top of that history.

'Those fortunate enough to have seen him play tell me he was simply the greatest. His achievements, the man he was and the standards he set will continue to inspire everyone who pulls on this shirt.

'His legacy goes far beyond records and trophies. His impact on Wigan, on rugby league and on the wider sporting world was recognised at the very highest level. We will do everything we can to honour his memory by representing this club with the pride, humility and excellence that he embodied.

'Sir Billy Boston will always be one of Wigan Warriors’ greatest sons, and he will never be forgotten.'