The memories come flooding back, what a player!
I remember one game away at Fev when he was player coach and he was on one leg as his knees were shot and he was telling all the youngsters in the team where to stand, when to run and where to run (I seem to recall a young Ian Hopkinson playing). BA ran the show and as someone said above, head and shoulders above anyone else. Great player and he could dish it out when needed.

He had all the skills and hardness you would want. His ability to sell a dummy were second to none, and when him and Keith Smith were selling them, the opposition, team-mates and crowd didn't know where the ball was. Brilliant memories.

I remember St Helens away when he grabbed hold of Chisnals collar and pulled his fist back to his waist , big chi snell couldn't get away quick enough shaking like a leaf . Was it Wigan at home when he got clobbered by a on loan player who shouldn't have even played. Steve blaney ?

Steve Breheney I think. BA got an elbow to the cheekbone, off the ball.

Brehney was just a thug a very big one at that, Karalius put him in against Wakefield specifically to hurt Ashurst from past experiences when he was playing , Brehney wasn't good enough to do it when Bill was looking and had to wait while BA had his head stuck through the front row of the scrum breaking his jaw.

For some reason i thought B A had kicked through and received the elbow when sandwiched between two Wigan players . I don't think he was even on the Wigan team sheet. My dad who was sat in the east stand said you could hear the crack .

Never seen a player dominate a particular game as much as Bill did on his, I believe, first game for Trinity at Featherstone on the Easter Monday. Sadly we didn't win the game. That try following the kick over the opposition's head that Mopsey refers to was against St Helens I think.

Any info on where the signing is taking place please.

I think everybody in the ground heard the crack bar the referee, Steve Breheny was a lorry driver what worked for our firm in Wigan and a part time bit player who couldn't play rugby but was massive and did to Bill exactly what he was selected to do, if you go to the book signing ask him about his old sparring partner the then Wigin coach and Runcorn bridge, and Steve Breheny as well.
He had his jaw broke at Hull KR as well, maybe your dad's got the games mixed up.

I remember a try he scored for Wigan at Central Park. He chipped the ball over the defence on the halfway line, regathered, came up to the fullback, chipped him, collected it on the full and went in under the posts. A fabulous RL player who could do it all. He was spotted playing in the Ken Gee Cup (an annual amateur cop comp in Wigan)and IIRC played centre to the greatest of them all, Billy Boston, in Billys testimonial game.

Would be really interesting to know what Wigan fans thought of Bill. He was a legend to me but I only saw a few games from him towards the end of his career whilst at Trinity. How does Bill stand in the Hall of Fame at Central Park, I Would be interested to hear from our pie scoffing friends in the build up to next Sunday

I remember a Yorks cup game against Leeds when Roy Dickinson decided he wanted handbags at 10 and who did he decide to have one with Ashurst the outcome was inevitable with big Bill holding him with one hand and smacking him with the other.He was certainly a fantastic player at the time and would be worth a fortune now as he was then when we signed him for a world record fee if only we could have seen more of him in the Red White and Blue

The try the OP mentioned was against Bradford Northern it ended as a draw scored Trinity St end. I remember it well as I will remember Tom Johnson's in another 30 years.

But will you remember his name is Tom Johnstone though?

Bill will be in the Cats Bar on Sunday with his book signing from 1pm … situated on the main stage