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Billy Boston to become rugby league's first ever knight

Billy Boston, a Welsh-born rugby league legend, was knighted at Buckingham Palace on June 11, 2025, becoming the sport’s first ever knight.
Boston’s knighthood capped a career marked by overcoming racial prejudice after switching from rugby union to rugby league in 1953 and making history in 1954 as the first non-white Great Britain Lions tour player.
He scored a British record 571 tries, including 478 for Wigan across 488 matches, and played in six Challenge Cup finals, winning titles in 1958, 1959, and 1965.
The knighthood ceremony followed a longstanding campaign supported by MPs, local councillors, and sports bodies, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer calling it a correction of an 'historic wrong'.
This honour acknowledges Boston’s trailblazing role confronting racism and the undervaluation of rugby league’s cultural impact, signalling hoped-for wider recognition for the sport and its figures.

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South Wales Argus

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'He remains one of the greatest names in Welsh sporting history'

The Welsh Rugby Union has paid tribute to Sir Billy Boston following his knighthood.

12 hours ago·Newport, United Kingdom

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Hull Daily Mail

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Hull KR legend makes big call after Sir Billy Boston's knighthood

Ex-Robins and Great Britain star Mike Smith hailed Boston's historic moment but insisted more rugby league greats must follow

1 day ago·Hull, United Kingdom

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Daily Express

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Sir Billy Boston awarded rugby league's first knighthood by King Charles

Sir Billy Boston has been knighted in recognition of his services to rugby league, becoming the first player in the sport's 130-year history to do so.

2 days ago·United Kingdom

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