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If you blinked during his playing days, you may have missed some of the most exciting runs in CFL history.

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But the next time you glance at Princess Auto Stadium, you’ll see Charles Roberts’ name engraved in the team’s Ring of Honor.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers will make the legendary running back their 16th addition to the ring when they host the Saskatchewan Roughriders for the Banjo Bowl on September 7.

“This is a big deal for me. I am honoured and very grateful to be recognised as one of the legends of the organization,” Roberts said in a club press release on Monday. “When I first came to Winnipeg all those years ago, I never imagined that 20 years later I would receive a call telling me that I was being honoured in this way by being inducted into the Ring of Honour.”

Roberts played for the Bombers from 2001 to 2008 and, despite his small stature (5’6″, 175 lbs), accomplished great things for the club, eventually becoming the team’s all-time leader in rushing yards (9,987) and rushing touchdowns (64).

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His lightning speed and ability to outwit a defender earned him the nickname “Blink” from teammate and Bombers legend Milt Stegall.

Roberts, a California native, was a seven-time division All-Star and a six-time CFL All-Star and was named the league’s Most Outstanding Special Teams Player, as well as the East Division’s Most Excellent Player and Most Excellent Rookie in 2001.

He led the league in rushing three times (2003, 2005 and 2006) and eclipsed 2,000 yards in all three seasons. Roberts also had six consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons, including four straight seasons from 2003-06 when he rushed for more than 1,500 yards.

Roberts ranks sixth all-time in rushing in the CFL with 10,285 yards (5.4 yards per carry), and surpassed the 10,000-yard mark in a game against the Riders in mid-September 2008, days after the Bombers traded him to the BC Lions in exchange for fellow running back Joe Smith.

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Roberts retired at the end of the 2008 season.

“So many guys come to Canada and want to use it to get back into the NFL,” Roberts said. “After my first year in Winnipeg, I didn’t want to be anywhere else because I felt so comfortable in this community thanks to the fans, my teammates and the people. I had found a home.”

He ranks second on the Blue Bombers’ all-time list in yards from scrimmage (13,328) and total touchdowns (74), only Stegall is better.

And all this despite the fact that he was known for never setting foot in a weight room.

Roberts was inducted into the Blue Bombers Hall of Fame in 2013 and the CFL Hall of Fame in 2014.

“Congratulations to Charles Roberts, a welcome addition to our franchise’s other icons,” said Wade Miller, president and CEO of the Blue Bombers, in the press release. “The Winnipeg Football Club is absolutely thrilled to induct such a spectacular player into our Ring of Honour.”

[email protected]

X: @scottbilleck

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