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 lea ...

who played as a centre-half in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

for

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

and Oldham Athletic. 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 or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, 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 Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

. 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 Java ...

for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 1905.

Playing career

Born in

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

, Roberts started his football career with

Bishop Auckland Bishop Auckland ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the confluence of the River Wear and the River Gaunless in County Durham, England. It is northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham, England, Durham. M ...

, but soon moved to

. In 1904, he was transferred to

for £600. The United manager at the time was Ernest Mangnall who had embarked on a spending spree which would later see

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

players Billy Meredith 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 centre-half he helped Manchester United win the 1908 and 1911 league titles as well as the 1909

. Not until

1983 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 of the ...

, when a United side captained by

Bryan Robson Bryan Robson (born 11 January 1957) is an English association football, football manager and former player. He began his career with West Bromwich Albion F.C., West Bromwich Albion in 1972, where he amassed over 200 appearances and was club ca ...

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 Scottish people or Scots (; ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded the Kingdom of Scotland (o ...

. He left the club in August 1913 for a then record fee of £1,500 to Oldham Athletic, who he also went on to manage, after appearing in 299 matches and scoring 23 goals for United. Roberts was capped 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 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 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 Billy Meredith, 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 and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, Leicester City and

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

. His nephews, Danny, Bill, Mark and Carl Hooper, were all professional footballers, and his nieces, Sarah and Bessie Hooper, played for Darlington Quaker Ladies. His great-great-granddaughter, Lucy Roberts, played for Manchester United W.F.C. in their inaugural season.

Honours

Manchester United *

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was the top division of the Football League in England from 1888 until the end of the 1991–92 season, when its teams broke away to form the Premier League. From 1992 to 2004, the name First Division was g ...

: 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 man ...

: 2017

References

Notes Bibliography * * * *

External links

*
Article on "Spartacus"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Charlie 1883 births 1939 deaths Footballers from Darlington English men's footballers England men's international footballers Men's 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