Some illustrious company with the great man.

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That's a bit racist.

It's the off-season. Some people seem to have their brains taken out for a couple of months.

Why is HE the pioneer of black players in RL?

The first black player to play for Great Britain that was Cec Thompson
The first black captain of Great Britain was Clive Sullivan

How do they come to the conclusion that it's Boston?

He broke the try scoring record for GB on his first tour after only 5 games of Rugby League. He was the first black player to tour. He was the first player to score four tries in test V NZ.

He is still one of the most revered about British players in Australia, as anyone who has been on tours over there.

There's only ONE Billy B.

I'm not knocking him or his record, but how is he a pioneer in the context of the subject?

Please note, this was not awarded by biased Wigan fans....

But Ali, Owens and Pele weren't the first great black players/athletes in their fields either, so how were they pioneers?

Please don't go confusing the issue when someone's anti-Wigan agenda rears its ugly head.

Errr i'm not, it's whoever wrote the article, and how he chose Boston over Sullivan?

Because Sullivan was a good player. Boston was 10 times better.

I'd just give up now really.

Your right BTW as the article says it names black athletes who ' change perceptions, broken through barriers and made a political and social impact.

Boston was the best but he wasn't the above. There were players who broke through the glass ceiling first. Boston simply blazed a trail of talent in a game that was already used to black athletes.

That's what this article was about not who the best player was.

As he was the first black captain of the Great Britain Lions and for any national British sporting side in a predominantly white country in 1972, I'd say that was a pretty big f'in deal especially as in 1972 this country wasn't exactly whiter than white (excuse the pun) on race relations.

To not recognise the magnitude of that appointment belies belief and possibly ignorance to the problems that were going on in this country.

Boston was undoubtedly a great of the game and in no way am i denigrating his achievements or stature, but i think the author is wrong.

I will be interested to see the reply after you have contacted the author to tell them.

It wouldn't matter if it was Thompson, Boston, Sullivan, Roy Francis (first British black professional coach in any sport) or Hanley (first black person to coach or manage a major national team in Great Britain), to see our sport mentioned in such exalted company is a rare honour.

I don't disagree and i don't mean to take anything away from Boston at all.

So how was Ali any more deserved than Joe Louis?

I have looked at these posts and maybe I have not understood them all,but I find it a bit degrading to throw different points of view about a great ambassidor of the game about like this.
Some fans may know this,but a lot of you will not.

On the 1962 tour of Australia an extra match was arranged to take place on the way home from Australia,this match was to take place in South Africa,at that time South Africa was the hotbed of racial discrimination.

The South African authorities said that any black members of the tour party would have to stay in a different hotel to the white players.

The British Rugby League agreed to this before they told Billy,he then showed what a proud man he was and he humbly declined.
Billy flew home from Australia on his own.

Billy later received an apology from Bill Fallofield the the secetary of the Rugby Football League.
This he accepted without any fuss.

A great player and above all a great man.

Probably because he went beyond boxing and was vocal in the struggle against racial discrimination.

I doubt youll find anyone arguing about the great player bit but theres a few around Hawkley that will disagree with the great man statement.

Is this the same Ali that stated many times that ALL white men were devils?

Are you surprised he felt like that everything considered? It's not as if he was ill informed council estate school drop out type who spouts it for no reason, if you treat people like dirt then expect contempt back.

Not without his flaws was yon Mohammed