| Profile | |
|---|---|
| Position | Running back |
| Personal information | |
| Born | April 3, 1979 Montclair, California, U.S. |
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) |
| Weight | 177 lb (80 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College | Sacramento State |
| Career history | |
| 2001–2008 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers |
| 2008 | BC Lions |
| Awards and highlights | |
| |
Stats at CFL.ca (archive) | |
Charles Roberts (born April 3, 1979) is an American former professional football running back who played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). In 2024 he was inducted into the Winnipeg Blue Bombers Ring of Honour.
Roberts attended Sacramento State, where he set numerous DI-AA rushing records for the Sac State Hornets football team, including total rushing yards and most yards in a game (409 yards vs Idaho State in 1999). His nickname while with the Hornets was "Choo-Choo Charlie", in reference to the train that would often come by behind the stadium during games and practices. Upon graduation, he went to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada to play for the Canadian Football League team, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
In his 8-year tenure he established himself as one of the premier running backs in the Canadian Football League, earning the nickname "Blink" for his amazing quickness and agility. [1] He led the league in rushing yards in 2006 with 1609 yards and 10 touchdowns, earning a nomination as the East's Most Outstanding Player. Off the field he experienced highs and lows. The enigmatic back missed team flights, led the league in all-purpose yards, pondered retirement, led the league in rushing yards, publicly criticized some decisions, and signed a long-term big money deal to remain as the face of the Bombers.
Through the 2006 season, Roberts rushed for 8,091 yards in just six seasons with the Blue Bombers. He also tallied up 2,732 receiving yards and 57 touchdowns.
On September 2, 2007 Roberts passed Leo Lewis to become the Winnipeg Blue Bombers all-time leading rusher. At the time, he was fifth all-time in CFL career rushing totals. Andrew Harris surpassed Charles Roberts for fifth during the CFL's 2023 rendition of the "Touchdown Atlantic" (TDA), an event which only had been played once during the CFL preseason in 2005 when Roberts was still playing.
Roberts was selected in 2005 as one of the 20 All-Time Blue Bomber Greats.
On September 1, 2008, Roberts was traded to the BC Lions for fellow RB Joe Smith.
On September 13, 2008, in a game against the Roughriders, Roberts ran to surpass 10,000 rushing yards in his CFL career. [2]
On December 3, 2008, the Lions announced that Roberts' 2009 option was not being renewed and as a result he became a free agent. [3] He retired from the game shortly thereafter.
Since retiring as a player, Roberts moved to and now resides in Long Beach, California. [4] [5]
On September 18, 2013, Roberts was inducted into the Blue Bombers' Hall of Fame. [6]
In 2014, he was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
| Year | Team | Att. | Yards | Ave. | Long | TD | Fumbles | Rec. | Yards | Avg | Long | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Winnipeg | 107 | 620 | 5.8 | 22 | 1 | 3 | 27 | 288 | 10 | 43 | 0 |
| 2002 | Winnipeg | 216 | 1,162 | 5.4 | 70 | 5 | 5 | 55 | 613 | 11 | 59 | 6 |
| 2003 | Winnipeg | 264 | 1,554 | 5.9 | 51 | 8 | 2 | 51 | 548 | 10 | 47 | 2 |
| 2004 | Winnipeg | 300 | 1,522 | 5.1 | 49 | 8 | 11 | 53 | 398 | 7 | 26 | 5 |
| 2005 | Winnipeg | 290 | 1,624 | 5.6 | 69 | 12 | 5 | 49 | 474 | 9 | 32 | 0 |
| 2006 | Winnipeg | 303 | 1,609 | 5.3 | 33 | 10 | 5 | 42 | 411 | 9 | 32 | 0 |
| 2007 | Winnipeg | 246 | 1,379 | 5.3 | 56 | 16 | 6 | 47 | 358 | 7 | 35 | 0 |
| 2008 | Winnipeg | 111 | 517 | 4.7 | 33 | 4 | 38 | 251 | 6.6 | 14 | 0 | |
| 2008 | British Columbia | 65 | 298 | 4.6 | 18 | 5 | 6 | 55 | 9.2 | 20 | 0 | |
| Totals | TOT | 1918 | 10285 | 5.4 | 70 | 69 | 41 | 368 | 3396 | 9 | 64 | 13 |
| Playoffs | Team | GP | Rush | Yards | TD | Rec. | Yards | TD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 East Final | Winnipeg | 1 | 9 | 49 | 0 | 4 | 33 | 0 | |
| 2002 West Semi-Final | Winnipeg | 1 | 16 | 169 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 0 | |
| 2002 West Final | Winnipeg | 1 | 1 | −1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | |
| 2003 West Semi-Final | Winnipeg | 1 | 16 | 73 | 0 | 4 | 32 | 0 | |
| 2006 East Semi-Final | Winnipeg | 1 | 30 | 179 | 2 | 0 | – | – | |
| 2007 East Semi-Final | Winnipeg | 1 | 20 | 107 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 0 | |
| 2007 East Final | Winnipeg | 1 | 25 | 105 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2008 West Semi-Final | British Columbia | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 2008 West Final | British Columbia | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Totals | 7 | 117 | 681 | 4 | 13 | 104 | 0 |
| Grey Cup | Team | GP | Rush | Yards | TD | Rec. | Yards | TD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Winnipeg | 1 | 8 | 70 | 0 | 0 | – | – | |
| 2007 | Winnipeg | 1 | 13 | 47 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0 | |
| Totals | 2 | 21 | 117 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0 |