Portrait of Billy Boston

Birthday profile

Billy Boston

Billy Boston, Welsh rugby player and soldier

Born
August 6, 1934
Age in 2026
92
Zodiac sign
Leo
Birth year
1934

About Billy Boston

Sir William John Boston (born 6 August 1934) is a Welsh former professional rugby league footballer who played as a winger or centre. Born and raised in Cardiff, Wales, Boston started his career as a rugby union player before joining Wigan in 1953. Regarded as one of the sport's greatest ever players, Boston scored 571 tries in his career, making him the second-highest try scorer in rugby league history. Boston spent 15 years of his career at Wigan to which he is most well known, where he scored a club-record 478 tries in his 488 appearances for the club. He finished his career at Blackpool Borough before retiring in 1970. Internationally, he represented Great Britain in 31 Test matches, scoring 24 tries, and was part of the team that won the 1960 Rugby League World Cup. == Early life == Born on 6 August 1934 at Angelina Street, Butetown, Cardiff, Boston was the sixth of eleven children born to John Boston, a merchant seaman from Sierra Leone, and Nellie, who came from Cardiff's Irish community. On 23 July 2026, it was announced that Boston's wife Lady Joan Boston had died at the age of 90. They had been married for 70 years. == Rugby career == === Rugby union === Boston began his career in rugby union with the newly formed Cardiff Internationals Athletic Club (CIACS; pronounced "kayaks").

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Career and life highlights

Billy Boston timeline

  1. The young Boston was an integral part of the CIACs "invincible" season of 1951–52, where the team won all of their 32 games.
  2. Boston made his first team debut for Wigan against Barrow in November 1953 scoring a try.
  3. Born and raised in Cardiff, Wales, Boston started his career as a rugby union player before joining Wigan in 1953.
  4. Internationally, he represented Great Britain in 31 Test matches, scoring 24 tries, and was part of the team that won the 1960 Rugby League World Cup.

The world when Billy Boston was born

Billy Boston was born in 1934. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1934

  • #1 song"Stars Fell on Alabama"
  • Top movieIt Happened One Night
  • Best-selling bookTender Is the Night – F. Scott Fitzgerald

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentFirst Masters Tournament held at Augusta National
  • Top headlineFBI kills John Dillinger outside a Chicago theater
  • Technology milestoneFirst streamlined passenger train (Burlington Zephyr)
  • Defining fadShirley Temple mania
  • Notable inventionLaundromat
  • World population2.20 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderFranklin D. Roosevelt
  • Sports championSt. Louis Cardinals (World Series)
  • U.S. population126.4M

1934 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Billy Boston's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19342026
Gas$0.19$3.45/gal
Average home$4,900$435,000
Average income$2,500$67,500
Minimum wage$0.25$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.20$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population126.4M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Rugby League Project, Rugby League Record Keepers Club. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.