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Scottish Sun
11-07-2025
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Rugby league's ‘King', Sir Billy Boston, gets more honours after knighthood
Wigan legend will be saluted at home match with Huddersfield TOP OF THE BILL Rugby league's 'King', Sir Billy Boston, gets more honours after knighthood Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THE PRINCES on the pitch may steal the show with the action – but there is only one King Bill. Tonight is about one man – rugby league's first ever knight, Wigan legend Sir Billy Boston. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 Rugby league's first knight, Sir Billy Boston, will be honoured by the Wigan club where he is a legend Credit: GETTY IMAGES As the Warriors face Huddersfield, the icon gets more recognition. After 571 tries in 564 career appearances as he became a legend – with three statues around the country - he was knighted by King Charles last month. Now Wigan and the 13-a-side code gets to toast its own king as the 90-year-old's son Stephen is ready for an emotional night. He said: 'He will always be King Bill. He's still my hero. 'I remember Green Vigo used to come into dad's pub and he used to say, 'The King's retired and the Prince is taking over.' Dad replied, 'The King's still here, don't you worry about it.' 'All the teams used to come in, even the Aussie touring sides, just to see my dad and have a chat. 'I never saw him play physically but I've seen the reels and he was unstoppable in some of them. Every time he touched the ball, the crowd went up on its feet. 'Tonight promises to be special, we're all looking forward to it. Wigan as a club has been really good with him and you can also see his face light up when he sees chief executive Kris Radlinski.' Sir Billy's standing in rugby league and Wigan is exemplified in many ways. When he is walking around the supermarket with wife Joan, he is stopped by small children. Stephen says there is not much memorabilia left as his old man has given loads away and if he could, he would still be at clubs' presentation evenings. When he was shown on screen during the Warriors' Good Friday derby with St Helens, everyone – even away fans – saluted him. 'Seeing that on TV brought a tear to my eye,' added Stephen, who lives in Scotland and is travelling to his hometown today. 'You could see what it meant. I think somebody just elbowed him and said, 'They're talking about you and they're clapping you.' The big smile came on his face. 3 Billy Boston, pictured leaving the field in 1966, became rugby league's first ever knight. Credit: WIGAN WARRIORS 'That was priceless, you'll never see that again. All of a sudden, my phone was going, 'Ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping.' 'Everyone was asking, 'Did you see your dad? I replied, 'I'm watching it now.'' There is only one first knight, there is only one sportsman with three statues – in his native South Wales, in Wigan and at Wembley. There is only one Sir Billy Boston. However, Stephen admits a 'bittersweet' sentiment that it has taken his dad to reach 90 years of age, after living with vascular dementia for 13, to get a knighthood. To him, it should have come a decade ago as he told SunSport: 'The knighthood came a little bit too late for him to enjoy it fully. 'He enjoyed the day at the Palace but I asked him the day after, 'Did you enjoy that yesterday?' and he couldn't remember. 'It should have come about 10 years ago. He would have known everything that was happening. 3 Wigan have made tonight's clash with Huddersfield the Sir Billy Boston game Credit: 'Two of my sisters – Lisa Parr and Angela Dainty - have passed away. They never got to see him getting this and they'd have been over the moon. 'He's still got wit and he's still quite funny. The king came over and said, 'I used to play rugby union in the army, but it's not as dangerous as your game.' 'Dad turned round and said to him, 'I think your job's a bit more dangerous than mine.' He had the whole room laughing. 'He also grabbed hold of my arm and said, 'That's the biggest honour I've ever had in my life.' 'To see him deteriorate is hard to watch when you've had a hero like that for so long - he's still my hero and he always will be. 'Even when he does finally leave this planet, the legacy he'll leave behind is second to none. 'He still knows everybody, though, and that's a big bonus for me – he still knows he's got statues too. He brings that up in conversations quite a lot. 'It is special, there's only one first one ever to do it. Obviously, dad will enjoy the night, but he'll forget about it tomorrow.'
The Irish Sun
11-07-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Rugby league's ‘King', Sir Billy Boston, gets more honours after knighthood
THE PRINCES on the pitch may steal the show with the action – but there is only one King Bill. Tonight is about one man – rugby league's first ever knight, Wigan legend Sir Billy Boston. 3 Rugby league's first knight, Sir Billy Boston, will be honoured by the Wigan club where he is a legend Credit: GETTY IMAGES As the Warriors face Huddersfield, the icon gets more recognition. After 571 tries in 564 career appearances as he became a legend – with three statues around the country - he was knighted by King Charles last month. Now Wigan and the 13-a-side code gets to toast its own king as the 90-year-old's son Stephen is ready for an emotional night. He said: 'He will always be King Bill. He's still my hero. 'I remember Green Vigo used to come into dad's pub and he used to say, 'The King's retired and the Prince is taking over.' Dad replied, 'The King's still here, don't you worry about it.' 'All the teams used to come in, even the Aussie touring sides, just to see my dad and have a chat. MOST READ IN RUGBY LEAGUE 'I never saw him play physically but I've seen the reels and he was unstoppable in some of them. Every time he touched the ball, the crowd went up on its feet. 'Tonight promises to be special, we're all looking forward to it. Wigan as a club has been really good with him and you can also see his face light up when he sees chief executive Kris Radlinski.' Most read in Rugby League Sir Billy's standing in rugby league and Wigan is exemplified in many ways. When he is walking around the supermarket with wife Joan, he is stopped by small children. Stephen says there is not much memorabilia left as his old man has given loads away and if he could, he would still be at clubs' presentation evenings. When he was shown on screen during the Warriors' Good Friday derby with St Helens, everyone – even away fans – saluted him. 'Seeing that on TV brought a tear to my eye,' added Stephen, who lives in Scotland and is travelling to his hometown today. 'You could see what it meant. I think somebody just elbowed him and said, 'They're talking about you and they're clapping you.' The big smile came on his face. 3 Billy Boston, pictured leaving the field in 1966, became rugby league's first ever knight. Credit: WIGAN WARRIORS 'That was priceless, you'll never see that again. All of a sudden, my phone was going, 'Ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping.' 'Everyone was asking, 'Did you see your dad? I replied, 'I'm watching it now.'' There is only one first knight, there is only one sportsman with three statues – in his native South Wales, in Wigan and at Wembley. There is only one Sir Billy Boston. However, Stephen admits a 'bittersweet' sentiment that it has taken his dad to reach 90 years of age, after living with vascular dementia for 13, to get a knighthood. To him, it should have come a decade ago as he told SunSport: 'The knighthood came a little bit too late for him to enjoy it fully. 'He enjoyed the day at the Palace but I asked him the day after, 'Did you enjoy that yesterday?' and he couldn't remember. 'It should have come about 10 years ago. He would have known everything that was happening. 3 Wigan have made tonight's clash with Huddersfield the Sir Billy Boston game Credit: 'Two of my sisters – Lisa Parr and Angela Dainty - have passed away. They never got to see him getting this and they'd have been over the moon. 'He's still got wit and he's still quite funny. The king came over and said, 'I used to play rugby union in the army, but it's not as dangerous as your game.' 'Dad turned round and said to him, 'I think your job's a bit more dangerous than mine.' He had the whole room laughing. 'He also grabbed hold of my arm and said, 'That's the biggest honour I've ever had in my life.' 'To see him deteriorate is hard to watch when you've had a hero like that for so long - he's still my hero and he always will be. 'Even when he does finally leave this planet, the legacy he'll leave behind is second to none. Read more on the Irish Sun 'He still knows everybody, though, and that's a big bonus for me – he still knows he's got statues too. He brings that up in conversations quite a lot. 'It is special, there's only one first one ever to do it. Obviously, dad will enjoy the night, but he'll forget about it tomorrow.'
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'I wish dad was knighted before he had dementia'
Rugby league legend Sir Billy Boston should have been knighted years ago when he could have still fully appreciated its significance, his son has said. Stephen Boston explained: "Dad's got the dementia now and he is 90 - if he had got this 10 years ago he could [have] understood what was going on, why and how he got it, and he could enjoy it." The former Wigan Warriors star earlier this week became the first rugby league player to be knighted in the sport's 130-year history. Stephen Boston, who attended the investiture along with his mum Joan and sisters Karen Murray and Christine Davies, said his dad's honour had been "a long time coming". "It was absolutely amazing," he said of the ceremony. "I thought the King was brilliant with him. "I thought my dad - who has his moments - was brilliant and really enjoyed it. It's a big thing." Stephen Boston said his dad "leaned into me on the way out and said 'that's the biggest honour I've ever received' and I was quite taken aback because normally he wouldn't understand what's going on." At the investiture, Sir Billy also enjoyed some banter with King Charles. Mr Boston said: "The King told dad 'I played rugby in the Army but it is not as dangerous as the sport you do'. "Dad said 'No, your job is much more dangerous'!" Cardiff-born Sir Billy scored 478 tries in 488 matches for Wigan after making the switch from rugby union - then an amateur game - to the professional ranks of rugby league in 1953. Sir Billy, who has family links to Ireland and Sierra Leone, was in 1954 the first black player on a Great Britain rugby league Lions tour. He scored 36 tries in 18 appearances around Australia and New Zealand, including a then-record four in one match against the Kiwis. He made two more Lions tours - in 1958 and 1962 - and ended with 24 tries in 31 Test appearances for Great Britain. Politicians and rugby league's biggest names campaigned for Billy Boston to become the sport's first knight. Stephen Boston thinks it is "scandalous" that it took so long. He also has no doubt about who the next one should be - former Leeds Rhinos and England star Kevin Sinfield, who has since become equally synonymous with raising awareness about Motor Neurone Disease. The 44-year-old has embarked on a series of fund-raising efforts inspired by his late teammate Rob Burrow, who died of the disease last year. "It has to be Kevin," said Stephen Boston. "He is superhuman and has put the sport on the map!" Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230. King Charles awards first rugby league knighthood Wigan Warriors
BBC News
11-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Rugby League: Billy Boston becomes first in sport to receive knighthood
Former rugby league legend, Billy Boston, has been knighted by King Charles in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace. At the age of ninety, he is the sport's first player to receive a knighthood in its 130-year history. Sir Billy made almost five hundred appearances for Wigan Warriors in the 1950s and is also known as a trailblazer for black sports stars during this time. Who is Sir Billy Boston? Sir Billy is one of the rugby league's legends, finishing his career with a British record of 571 tries to his was born in 1934 in the Tiger Bay area of a young boy, he always wanted to play rugby union for in those days, opportunities were limited for black players in the sport and Sir Billy made the difficult decision to switch sports to rugby signed for Wigan Warriors and it was at the north west club where his talent really shone through and he made a name for went on to score 478 tries in 488 matches during his 15-year career at Wigan, winning three Challenge Cups for the club. Internationally, he made history as the first non-white player to be selected for a Great Britain rugby league Lions tour in made 31 Test appearances for Great Britain and was also part of the team that won the 1960 Rugby League World Billy has been praised for helping to open doors for black players in the sport. The rugby league legend was accompanied at Buckingham Palace by his family and colleagues from his former club. After receiving his knighthood, Sir Billy's wife Lady Joan, said his family were "so proud of him" and "excited that everything he's done for the sport and for our [rugby league] community is being recognised".Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was also full of praise for Sir Billy and his achievements."Boston is a legend of the game who overcame prejudice to represent Great Britain and opened the door to a more diverse game," Sir Keir added that it was a "historic wrong" that no rugby league player had received a knighthood until now.
New York Times
10-06-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Billy Boston, Trailblazing Rugby Player, Is Knighted
Billy Boston, the retired Welsh rugby star who was a trailblazing figure for Black professional athletes in Britain, was knighted by King Charles III in a special ceremony at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday. Boston, 90, is widely considered one of the best to ever play rugby league, the faster, more free-flowing version of the game, with 13 players on a side rather than 15, as in rugby union. He spent most of his career with Wigan Warriors, where he notched 488 appearances from 1953 to 1968, and finished his career with a British record of 571 tries, the rugby equivalent of touchdowns in American football. He was the first Black player to represent Britain on its rugby league national team, on a tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1954. He scored 24 tries in 31 international appearances for Britain and played a pivotal role in Britain's Rugby League World Cup championship in 1960, scoring against Australia in the final. Boston, who revealed in 2016 that he had been diagnosed with vascular dementia, did not make a public statement about the knighthood. The BBC reported on Tuesday that his wife, Joan, said that his family was 'excited that everything he's done for the sport and for our community is being recognized.' His son Stephen, appearing with his father after the ceremony, said the knighthood was 'a long time coming' and 'should have been a lot sooner,' noting that his father was the first player in the 130-year history of rugby league to be knighted. Boston collected several major honors at Wigan, the team said on its website, and won the Challenge Cup, the oldest rugby league cup in the world, three times. Mike Danson, Wigan's current owner, said on the team's website that Boston's knighthood was a 'richly deserved honor.' 'Without doubt, Billy was a player who was — and still is — the biggest crowd favorite in rugby league,' he said. In Wigan's 1959 Challenge Cup victory against Hull, Boston scored two tries in front of a crowd of nearly 80,000 at Wembley Stadium. He was the most prolific try-scorer in the history of rugby league and 'an iconic figure in the history of British sport,' Tony Sutton, the league's chief executive, said in a statement Tuesday. Politicians in Northern England, where rugby league is most popular, had expressed frustration for years that a rugby league player had not received a knighthood, particularly given that several rugby union players had been given the honor. Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain said on social media on Tuesday that it was 'a historic wrong' that it had taken so long for a rugby league player to receive a knighthood. Boston, he said, was 'a legend of the game who overcame prejudice to represent Great Britain and opened the door to a more diverse game.' 'The first knighthood in rugby league could not go to a more deserving player,' Starmer said.
