Sir Billy Boston, first rugby league player to be knighted, dies aged 92

Sir Billy Boston, the Wigan Warriors legend who became the first rugby league player to be awarded a knighthood last year, has died in hospital in his adopted home of Wigan, the Welsh Rugby Union confirmed on Tuesday; he was 92. The WRU said his death came four days after the funeral of his wife, Lady Joan, to whom he had been married for 70 years.

Boston scored 478 tries in 488 appearances for Wigan during a career in the 1950s and 1960s that established him among the sport’s finest players, according to the club’s records. He joined Wigan in 1953 for a fee of £3,000 after a brief spell in rugby union, scored on his debut in November 1953 and later had a short stint with Blackpool Borough before retiring in 1970.

The Welsh Rugby Union released a statement saying: "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 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."

At club level Boston helped Wigan lift the Challenge Cup on three occasions and won a solitary First Division title; the club named a stand after him at Central Park and repeated the honour at their new ground, the Brick Community Stadium, in 2009. He remained a regular attendee at Warriors matches for well over half a century after retiring, the club said, and Wigan are expected to undertake a series of tributes at their Super League game against Hull KR on Thursday evening.

Internationally, Boston represented Great Britain on 32 occasions and scored 25 tries, and he was a member of the side that won the Rugby League World Cup in 1960. BBC Sport reported that he scored a try in the final as Great Britain beat Australia 10-3 at Odsal Stadium.

Boston received an MBE in 1996 and was knighted last summer for services to rugby league; at the time the then prime minister Keir Starmer described it as a "historic wrong" that the sport had waited so long for a knighthood. The RFL, which named Boston in its inaugural Hall of Fame in 1988, said it was expected to pay a significant tribute.

Wigan owner Mike Danson said: "Billy Boston was everybody’s hero, including my mum’s. His achievements in rugby league were extraordinary, and his knighthood was a fitting recognition of a career that brought great credit to Wigan and to the game. But Billy’s legacy was not simply what he achieved. It was the humility with which he carried it. Despite everything he accomplished, he remained a quiet, dignified and deeply respected man. He leaves behind an example that will endure for generations."

BBC Sport also recalled that Boston was born in Cardiff and that, after switching codes, he reached a 100-try milestone in just 68 matches; the BBC said his total career tries numbered 571, a figure it described as surpassed only by Brian Bevan. The club and national governing bodies have announced immediate plans to mark his passing at upcoming fixtures.