[3][4][5] He is noted as one of the greatest of his era, one of the game's first superstars, Batten was a brilliant athlete and a huge crowd-puller – and also well aware of his own worth.

Billy Batten played fullback in Hunslet's 17–0 victory over Halifax in the 1907–08 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1907–08 season at Headingley, Leeds on Saturday 21 December 1907.

[11] He joined Hull FC for a then record fee of £600 in April 1913 (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £205,400 in 2013),[12] and was to be paid £14 per match (in contrast to the £4 a week he had been offered to sign for Manchester United), a huge sum at the time[13] (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £4,794 in 2013),[12] plus an additional special bonus.

These were huge figures at the time and made Batten possibly the highest-paid professional footballer in Britain, if not the world.

[14] He helped the club win the Challenge Cup in his first season, when his presence in the side reportedly added £500 to gate receipts per game.

Batten played at centre in Hull FC's 6-0 victory over Wakefield Trinity in the 1913–14 Challenge Cup Final during the 1913–14 season at Thrum Hall, Halifax, in front of a crowd of 19,000, played at centre and scored a try in the 9-10 defeat by Rochdale Hornets in the 1921–22 Challenge Cup Final during the 1921–22 season at Headingley, Leeds, in front of a crowd of 34,827.

[11] Batten signed for Wakefield Trinity in May 1924, he made his début during August 1924, playing in 79 games over the next couple of years, scoring six tries and kicking two goals.

Billy Batten played at centre in Wakefield Trinity's 9–8 victory over Batley in the 1924–25 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1924–25 season at Headingley, Leeds on Saturday 22 November 1924, and played at centre in the 3–10 defeat by Huddersfield in the 1926–27 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1926–27 season at Headingley, Leeds on Wednesday 1 December 1926.