His name is synonymous with greatness, with a unique gift for tight-space quickness, with grit and toughness and with an iron will and perseverance.
And yet, truth be told, the outstanding career Charles Roberts authored in the Canadian Football League – virtually all of it with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers – almost fizzled out before it even began.
Rewind to the spring of 2001 and Blue Bombers training camp when the fresh-faced Sacramento State product had first crossed the 49th parallel into Canada for his shot at finding fame and glory in the three-down game.
“When I first got up there, I really had to stick with it because in the first week, week and a half, I was ready to go home,” began Roberts in a conversation with bluebombers.com. “It was a different place, and I had never been so far away from home.
“I was always considered ‘the guy’ when I was playing in college and when I got up there it became real that I was just someone trying out for the team. And being the littlest guy on the field, I didn’t even think I had a chance, so I was ready to leave but somehow, some way, I stuck with it and here we are now.”
Where we are now is with Roberts being announced today as the 16th inductee into the Blue Bombers Ring of Honour at Princess Auto Stadium. He will be officially added during the annual Banjo Bowl on Saturday, September 7th against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
A running back and the leading rusher in franchise history, Roberts joins other franchise legends Chris Walby, Ken Ploen, Gerry James, Milt Stegall, Dieter Brock, Leo Lewis, Bud Grant, Herb Gray, Doug Brown, Jack Jacobs, Fritz Hanson, Bob Cameron, Bob Irving, Joe Poplawski and James Murphy in the Ring of Honour.
A star at Sac State but not drawing NFL interest because of his size – he stood 5-6 and weighed about 175 – Roberts turned his attention north after a college teammate, linebacker Ryland Wickman, had signed with the Blue Bombers in 2000.
He had his eyes opened instantly upon his arrival, seeing a running back depth chart featuring veterans Troy Mills and Eric Blount and a promising prospect in Robert Pollard, who had been buried on the B.C. Lions depth chart.
And that’s when the self-doubt set in right from the get-go.
“When you get up there it’s easy to think that there isn’t anybody in your corner,” Roberts recalled. “You’re in the rookie locker room at the old stadium and that wasn’t a pleasant place to be. It just wasn’t what I envisioned as a pro but a week later they moved me into the main locker room, and I got a little bit more comfortable.
“Still, me being the smallest guy on the field and seeing my competition and seasoned guys like Blount and Troy Mills and Robert Pollard – he really looked like a football player – and then there was me. I hadn’t really done special teams before, so I really didn’t think I had a chance or that special teams was going to be my way to stay on the roster. Back then, too, all the talk was they were only going to keep two American running backs on the roster. Luckily for me they decided to keep three and I got my chance.
“It was having that fear of failure, or not wanting to be a disappointment for everyone that had been looking forward to me doing great things. It was mentally difficult for me to make the decision to stay. When I think about it, Lyle Bauer (then president and CEO) – rest in peace – was instrumental in talking to me and reassuring me. They didn’t tell me I was going to make the team, but he and Brendan Taman (Assistant GM) and Coach Ritchie – also rest in peace – really helped me.
“It’s super-sad that Lyle and Coach Ritchie are gone now because they were so instrumental in my success. I’m appreciative of all those guys for that.”
Roberts had to fight to get work out of the backfield in his rookie season – he had 620 yards on 107 carries in ’01, which did lead the team – but he really made his mark in the kick-return game, leading the league in punt-return yards and finishing second in kickoff return yards en route to being named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Special Teams Player. He was also the runner-up for the league’s top rookie award to then-Lions linebacker Barrin Simpson.
That first year also helped him erase his own self-doubt while confirming he had a place in the game. He would earn the nickname ‘Blink’ – as in blink and you might miss him – and instantly became a fan favourite.
“One of the moments I’ll remember actually came in a preseason game,” Roberts said. “I was playing very sparingly and an there was a turnover and I turned and tried to find the biggest person I could and knock him off his block and I did it. And I did it right in front of Coach Ritchie on the sidelines and I could see him look at me with that, ‘OK, this guy is for real’ look. I knew then I would get an opportunity to get the chance to play.
“After that first year I really homed in on the smaller things like blocking and technique and that helped me a whole lot. I had that ‘don’t-fail attitude,’ and I never wanted to let anyone, or myself, down. I just kept at it and the longer you get to play the better it gets because you get more comfortable, and the nerves go away and that allowed me to concentrate on just being effective.”
Already on his way to stardom after his rookie season, Roberts then began establishing himself as a CFL great in 2002, posting the first of six consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons. He led the Blue Bombers in rushing seven times, won three CFL rushing crowns (2003, 2005, 2006) and was a CFL all-star seven times.
Roberts, became the franchise’s all-time leading rusher in 2007 – surpassing legend Leo Lewis – and when he was traded to B.C. in 2008 that total, which still stands, had reached 9.987 yards. Roberts ranks second in Blue Bombers history to Milt Stegall with 79 career touchdowns and his 64 along the ground is first. He also ranks sixth all-time in CFL rushing with 10,285 yards.
Roberts was named to the Winnipeg Football Club Hall of Fame in 2013 and a year later was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
“I’m very proud, although it’s a long time ago and I don’t think about it too much,” said Roberts, who lives in California and works for UCLA Health. “Every now and again I’ll think to myself, ‘Man, you did all that.’ But life goes on and I’m here now working. When I do look back at those times I do very fondly. It was a very wonderful time in my life.
“(The Ring of Honour) is a big deal for me. I’m humbled and I’m very appreciative that I’m being honoured as one of the legends of the organization. All those years ago when I first came to Winnipeg it never dawned on me that I’d receive a call 20 years later that I’d be saluted in this way by being added to the Ring of Honour.
“So many guys come up to Canada and want to use it to get back to the NFL. After my first year in Winnipeg, I didn’t want to be anywhere else because I was so comfortable because of the fans, my teammates and the people in that community.
“I had found a home.”