Welsh sporting legend Billy Boston is to be knighted in a landmark ceremony at Buckingham Palace, becoming the first rugby league player to receive such an honour.
Rugby Football League chief executive Tony Sutton has called the accolade a long-overdue correction of history.
Boston, 90, will receive the knighthood ahead of the official King’s Birthday Honours announcement later this week due to concerns about his health.
The Cardiff-born icon is widely recognised as one of the greatest players in the sport’s history, and a pioneering figure for black athletes during the 1950s and 60s.
Tony Sutton led the tributes, saying the honour goes beyond Boston’s extraordinary record on the field.
“On behalf of the Rugby Football League, and the sport of rugby league, it is a privilege to congratulate Sir Billy Boston on his knighthood.
“Sir Billy deserves to be recognised as an iconic figure in the history of British sport, for the way he overcame prejudice in his journey from working-class Cardiff to legendary status in Wigan, and became the most prolific British try-scorer in the 130-year history of rugby league.”
Boston's career was packed with achievements: 571 tries — a British record — including 478 in 487 matches for Wigan, three Challenge Cup victories at Wembley, and 31 appearances for Great Britain, during which he scored 24 tries.
He was also the first non-white player to represent Britain on a Lions tour in 1954.
Two years ago, Boston described a statue of him and fellow Welsh rugby greats Clive Sullivan and Gus Risman in his home city of Cardiff as among the “highlights of my life”.
Boston and the other ‘codebreakers’ were honoured with the first statue in Wales to feature non-fictionalised, named black men.
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His knighthood follows years of advocacy by players, politicians, and campaigners frustrated by the absence of top honours in rugby league compared to rugby union, which has seen 20 knighthoods awarded.
The RFL has previously said its players have been “poorly treated” by the honours system.
Chris Brookes, chairman of Wigan Warriors, described Boston as a generational great and a humble hero.
“I am absolutely delighted and so happy that Billy – and rugby league – has finally received the ultimate recognition his stellar career deserves.”
“He remained the most modest of men, despite being the most revered player of our wonderful sport.”
That sentiment was echoed by Wigan owner Mike Danson, who described the award as “a richly deserved honour which means this most humble of men rightly receives, at last, fitting recognition for his extraordinary efforts”.
READ MORE: Billy Boston
The move has also received high-level political backing. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy praised Boston’s contribution to the sport and society.
“Billy Boston’s knighthood is a historic milestone providing fitting recognition for the greatest player rugby league has ever seen.
“The first knighthood for a rugby league player is long overdue recognition for a game that has contributed so much to our national life. This is the moment we right a historic wrong.”
The decision to honour Boston now, rather than in the usual honours cycle, reflects a sense of urgency given his health and a broader effort to address what many see as a systemic oversight.
Cross-party MPs have spoken out about a perceived bias against rugby league, with some linking the lack of honours to class and cultural prejudice. Sir Lindsay Hoyle,
Speaker of the House of Commons, has said it “cannot be right” that rugby league players are so often overlooked, while David Baines, chair of the Parliamentary rugby league group, has labelled the historic lack of honours a “scandal”.
“They come from working-class backgrounds, didn’t go to the right schools, and didn’t mix in the right social circles,” Baines said.
Billy Boston, who has been living with dementia, will be joined at Buckingham Palace by his family and former club representatives for what promises to be an emotional and historic occasion.
