Billy Boston, the Welsh rugby league great who blazed a trail for Black sportspeople in Britain during the 1950s and ’60s, has died. He was 92.
Wigan Warriors, the team where Boston played for most of his illustrious career, announced his death on Tuesday, saying he passed away peacefully and was surrounded by his closest family.
In June last year, Boston became the first rugby league player to receive a knighthood, in a special ceremony at Buckingham Palace. The investiture was brought forward amid concerns for his health, with Boston suffering from dementia.
“Billy Boston wasn’t just a legend of Wigan Rugby League,” Wigan chief executive Kris Radlinski said, “he was one of the greatest figures our sport has ever known.”
Boston was born in the Welsh capital, Cardiff, and grew up playing rugby union before getting noticed by rugby league scouts while on national service in the north of England, the heartland of the 13-man code that split from the more widely played 15-a-side rugby union in the late 1800s.
He signed for Wigan in 1953 at age 19 and played 488 times for the club — scoring a remarkable 478 tries — until 1968, establishing himself as one of the greatest players in the history of rugby league.
Boston finished his career with a British-record haul of 571 tries in total and was the first Black player to represent Britain on the Lions tour Down Under, scoring 36 tries in 18 appearances in Australia and New Zealand in 1954. He featured in a total of 31 international test matches, including the World Cup final in 1960 when he scored a try in Britain's win over Australia.
Upon receiving his knighthood last year, Boston, whose father was from West African country Sierra Leone, was hailed by then-British Prime Minister Keir Starmer as a “true trailblazer” and “a legend of the game who overcame prejudice to represent Great Britain and opened the door to a more diverse game.”
Wigan owner Mike Danson said Boston “was everybody’s hero.”
“Billy’s legacy was not simply what he achieved,” Danson said. “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.”
In a club statement, Wigan said Boston's death came just weeks after that of his wife, Lady Joan Boston.
See AP’s full rugby coverage here
FILE - Rugby league star Billy Boston after he received his Knighthood at an Investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace, London, on June 10, 2025. (Aaron Chown/Pool via AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he is considering changing the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America” as the trade war between the United States and Canada intensifies.
Such a change would be reminiscent of the Republican president’s unilateral action last year by executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
The United States and Canada are locked in a trade dispute, with Canada expected to announce retaliatory measures Tuesday. That’s in response to the Trump administration enacting 50% tariffs on $20 billion of Canadian goods over the weekend after talks between the countries broke down.
“The United States is giving serious consideration to changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America in that we don’t expect to doing much business with Ontario any longer,” Trump said Tuesday on social media.
Ontario is Canada’s most populous province and is home to the country’s auto industry.
The rhetoric between the two countries is escalating, with Trump telling Canadian leaders Monday to “fall in line” or face consequences “far WORSE” than existing tariffs. Prime Minister Mark Carney has accused Washington of trying to subordinate Canada.
Trump also threatened new 50% tariffs on Canadian vehicles, auto parts and steel, while Carney said U.S. trade demands showed that Washington wanted to “destroy our major industries,” including autos, steel and aluminum.
Canada and the United States share one of the world’s largest trading relationships, with deeply integrated supply chains across autos, energy, agriculture and manufacturing, making a prolonged trade fight potentially costly for businesses and workers on both sides of the border.
Businesses and consumers are caught in the middle, facing uncertainty about how much prices may increase.
Michael Howard II, owner of a furniture business in Warren, Michigan, outside Detroit, said the tariffs will hamper the “ability for us to put food on the table for our family, but also impacts the ability for us to give back to our community.”
Howard and his wife started their business a decade ago. They make and sell everything from dining room tables to bookcases.
“To say that we don’t need Canada is just disingenuous,” he said. “It’s dishonest. And it’s just absolutely not truthful. We need our neighbor, but also they need us.”
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne and three other Cabinet ministers are also expected Tuesday morning to share details of support for workers affected by tariffs. Carney said earlier Monday that Canada may need to move away from matching U.S. tariffs dollar for dollar and instead use more targeted retaliation aimed at protecting Canadian workers and businesses.
“An attitude at the negotiation table that Canada is a subsidiary of the United States” is “not something we’re going to accept,” Carney said.
Carney was even more blunt in French.
“We learned during the negotiations that the Americans want to destroy our major industries, including autos, steel and aluminum,” Carney said. “That was one of the main reasons we said no. It was a bad deal.”
Rob Gillies reported from Ontario. Associated Press writers Seung Min Kim contributed from Washington and Mike Householder from Warren, Michigan
Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks to media at a housing development in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (Nick Iwanyshyn/The Canadian Press via AP)
Chrysler Pacificas are driven off the lot at Windsor Assembly Plant in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (Dax Melmer/The Canadian Press via AP)
FILE - U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, speaks in Palmer, Alaska, Aug. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)
President Donald Trump speaks during a back to school event in the Rose Garden of the White House, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
