Charles Roberts (6 April 1883 – 7 August 1939) was an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a

centre-half In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in t ...

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

and

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic be ...

. He spent nine years at United, where he was

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, helping the club to two First Division titles and an

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...

. He won three

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

in 1905.

Playing career

Born in

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington under ...

, Roberts started his football career with Bishop Auckland, but soon moved to

. In 1904, he was transferred to

for £600. The United manager at the time was

Ernest Mangnall James Ernest Mangnall (4 January 1866 – 13 January 1932) was an English football manager who started his career with Burnley and managed Manchester United between 1903–1912 and then went on to manage Manchester City from 1912–1924, and is ...

who had embarked on a spending spree which would later see

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The two ...

players

Billy Meredith William Henry Meredith (30 July 1874 – 19 April 1958) was a Welsh professional footballer. He was considered one of the early superstars of football due to his performances, notably for Manchester City and Manchester United. He won each ...

and Sandy Turnbull arrive at Bank Street, United's ground at the time. Roberts arrival at United was extremely important to the development of the club; a strong, skilful, fast centre half and a rebel to boot. He flouted FA rules by wearing his shorts above the knee and was politically minded in favour of the unionisation of professional footballers. Playing as

he helped Manchester United win the 1908 and 1911 league titles as well as the 1909

. Not until

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

, when a United side captained by

Bryan Robson Bryan Robson OBE (born 11 January 1957) is an English football manager and former player. He began his career with West Bromwich Albion in 1972, where he amassed over 200 appearances and was club captain before moving to Manchester United in 1 ...

lifted the FA Cup for the fifth time, did another Englishman captain the club to FA Cup glory, as United's captains of their second and third triumphs were both Irish and their fourth FA Cup winning side was captained by a

Scotsman The Scots ( sco, Scots Fowk; gd, Albannaich) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic-speaking peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded ...

. He left the club in August 1913 for a then record fee of £1,500 to

, who he also went on to manage, after appearing in 299 matches and scoring 23 goals for United. Roberts was

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...

three times for

in 1905, Manchester United's first England international.

Players' Union

On 2 December 1907, Roberts and Meredith were instrumental in setting up the Players' Union. The organisation was not recognised by the FA but it did attract considerable support from fellow League clubs. In August 1909, the FA threatened to suspend any player who admitted to being a member of the Union, following which Roberts and his Manchester United's teammates were summoned to a meeting with the club's management. The players refused to relinquish their Union membership, forcing the club to contact their first opponents of the new season,

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. ...

to cancel the fixture, as it could not field a team. The FA's threat had seen the membership of the Union fall so that the only members were the Manchester United players, who called themselves "The Outcasts". It was only after

Tim Coleman John George Coleman MM (26 October 1881 – 20 November 1940) was an English footballer who played as a forward for Kettering Town, Northampton Town, Woolwich Arsenal, Everton, Sunderland, Fulham, Nottingham Forest and Tunbridge Wells Ran ...

of Everton renewed his support by siding with The Outcasts that the FA relented and Roberts' Union was saved.

Coaching career

In 1928, together with former colleague

, he became a coach for the ambitious Manchester Central. Roberts' son, Charlie Jr., was a player for Central's first season. He died, aged 56, at Manchester Royal Infirmary in August 1939 following a cranial operation after suffering extended "dizzy spells".

Personal life

Roberts' cousin, Harry Hooper, played at full-back for

Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the Nation ...

and

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus ...

. His nephews, Danny,

Bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * F ...

and

Carl Hooper Carl Llewelyn Hooper (born 15 December 1966) is a former Guyanese cricketer who captained the West Indies in Tests and ODIs. An all-rounder, he was a right-handed batsman and off-spin bowler, who came to prominence in the late 1980s in a side t ...

, were all professional footballers, and his nieces, Sarah and Bessie Hooper, played for Darlington Quaker Ladies. His great-great-granddaughter,

Lucy Roberts Lucy Roberts (born 11 May 2001) is an English women's footballer who plays as a defender. She currently plays college soccer for the Louisville Cardinals and club soccer for North Carolina Courage U23. She has previously played for Liverpoo ...

, played for

Manchester United W.F.C. Manchester United Women Football Club is a professional football club based in Leigh, Greater Manchester, England, that competes in the Women's Super League (WSL), the top tier of English women's football, after gaining promotion from the Ch ...

in their inaugural season.

Honours

Club

Manchester United *

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First D ...

(2): 1907–08, 1910–11 *

: 1908–09

Individual

English Football Hall of Fame The English Football Hall of Fame is housed at the National Football Museum in Manchester, England. The Hall aims to celebrate and highlight the achievements of the all-time top English footballing talents, as well as non-English players and ma ...

: 2017

References

Notes Bibliography * * * *

External links

*
Article on "Spartacus"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Charlie 1883 births 1939 deaths Footballers from Darlington English footballers England international footballers Association football central defenders Darlington St Augustine's F.C. players Bishop Auckland F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Manchester United F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. managers English Football League players English Football League representative players English Football Hall of Fame inductees English football managers FA Cup Final players