Crowds lined the streets of Wigan on Thursday for the funeral of rugby league’s first knight, Sir Billy Boston, who died last month at the age of 92.
Boston’s funeral cortege wound its way around the Greater Manchester town before arriving for the service on the pitch at the Brick Community Stadium.
Wigan Warriors chief executive Kris Radlinski delivered a eulogy in which he said: “Billy belonged to Wigan but he was adored by everybody.
“Opponents respected him, supporters loved him, players revered him, and the people of this town simply regarded him as one of their own.”
Boston was born in Cardiff and grew up playing rugby union before he signed for Wigan in 1953. He went on to score 478 tries in 488 appearances for the club during the 1950s and 1960s.
He was the first black player to tour Australia and New Zealand as part of the 1954 Great Britain team, and scored a total of 571 tries in his career, ranking him second all time behind Australia’s Brian Bevan.
Boston received a knighthood from King Charles at Buckingham Palace in June 2025, becoming the first rugby league player to receive the honour in the sport’s 130-year history.
Radlinski revealed during his speech that Wigan Council will be renaming the town’s Believe Square Sir Billy Boston Square in his honour.
