Sir Billy Boston statue MBE, KBE, The Wiend, Wigan town centre, Greater Manchester, England, UK, WN1 1YB at dusk ( William John Boston )

Sir Billy Boston's bronze statue at Believe Square in The Wiend, Wigan town centre, photographed at dusk with the sculpture illuminated against a deep blue evening sky. The full-length memorial depicts Boston striding forward with a rugby ball under one arm, celebrating the power and pace that made him one of rugby league's greatest try scorers. Born William John Boston in Tiger Bay, Cardiff, on 6 August 1934, he moved from rugby union to rugby league and signed for Wigan in 1953, becoming one of the defining figures of the British game. Boston scored 478 tries in 488 appearances for Wigan and finished his professional career with a British record 571 tries in 562 games, a total commemorated prominently on the statue's plinth. He represented Great Britain, toured Australia and New Zealand with the Lions in 1954 and was a member of the victorious Great Britain side at the 1960 Rugby League World Cup. His Wigan honours included three Challenge Cup triumphs and a league championship. Powerful, very quick and difficult to tackle, Boston was renowned for his acceleration, balance, strength and instinctive ability to find the try line. His importance extended beyond statistics. The Cardiff-born son of a Sierra Leonean father and Irish mother became one of Britain's most prominent Black sportsmen of the 1950s and 1960s and a pioneer in breaking racial barriers in professional sport. He was appointed MBE in 1996 and in 2025 became the first rugby league player to receive a knighthood, becoming Sir William John Boston KBE. Sculpted by Steve Winterburn and unveiled in 2016, the statue has become a civic landmark and symbol of Wigan's rugby heritage. Seen at dusk following Boston's death aged 92 in August 2026, the illuminated memorial carries added poignancy as a place of remembrance for a Wigan Warriors legend, Great Britain international, World Cup winner and record-breaking sporting hero whose 571 career tries remain central to his extraordinary legacy.