Charles Roberts

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.

College career 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.

Professional career Winnipeg Blue Bombers In his 8-year tenure, he established himself as a successful running back in the Canadian Football League, earning the nickname "Blink" for his quickness and agility. 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.

BC Lions On September 13, 2008, in a game against the Roughriders, Roberts ran to surpass 10,000 rushing yards in his CFL career.

On December 3, 2008, the Lions announced that Roberts' 2009 option was not being renewed and as a result he became a free agent. He retired from the game shortly thereafter.

Post-football Since retiring as a player, Roberts moved to and now resides in Long Beach, California.

On September 18, 2013, Roberts was inducted into the Blue Bombers' Hall of Fame.

In 2014, he was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

CFL statistics Regular season Year Team Att. Yards Ave. Long TD Fumbles Rec. Yards Avg Long TD 2001 Winnipeg 107 620 5.8 22 1 32728810430 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 4.733 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 Grey Cup