Charles "Charlie" LaFayette Shepard was an award-winning, all-star and

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

champion

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. The ...

in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...

with the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play their h ...

from 1957 to 1962. A graduate of

North Texas State University The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School ...

, Shepard played with the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Stee ...

in 1956, rushing for 91 yards in 12 games. He next joined the Blue Bombers in 1957 for an all-star 6-year stay. He would play in the

championship game 5 of those years, winning 4 times. His best season was 1959, when he rushed for 1076 yards, was an all-star and was

Grey Cup Most Valuable Player The Grey Cup's Most Valuable Player (MVP) award is awarded annually since 1959 to the player of the winning team who deemed to have had the best performance in the Grey Cup Game, the Canadian Football League's championship game. This award is prese ...

. He rushed for 3768 yards with the Bombers and was an excellent punter, never averaging less than 43.1 yards per punt in a season. He has since been inducted into the ''Winnipeg Football Club Hall of Fame'', in 1992, and the ''North Texas State University Athletic Hall of Fame'' in 2005. Charlie Shepard died July 23, 2009, age 76.Former Bomber Charlie Shepard dies
/ref>

References

1933 births 2009 deaths Players of American football from Dallas Players of Canadian football from Dallas American football running backs North Texas Mean Green football players Pittsburgh Steelers players American players of Canadian football Canadian football running backs Winnipeg Blue Bombers players {{Runningback-1930s-stub