Reggie Barnes (born October 19, 1967 in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

) is a former running back 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 ci ...

. Barnes attended the

Delaware State University Delaware State University (DSU or Del State) is a public historically black land-grant research university in Dover, Delaware. DSU also has two satellite campuses: one in Wilmington and one in Georgetown. The university encompasses four col ...

where he rushed for 1336 yards in 1988 and 3282 during his college career. He was not drafted by the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

, but signed as a free agent with the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

in 1989 where he spent the entire season on the practice squad. He came to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1990, and made an immediate impression with the

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine ...

. He rushed for 1260 yards and 5 touchdowns on his way to winning the CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award. An interesting fact is that CFL legend and Ottawa quarterback Damon Allen also rushed for 1,000 yards that year. Barnes proved his rookie season was no fluke by setting a team rushing record, posting an incredible 1,486 yards rushing in 1991 and 10 rushing touchdowns it would be his finest season as Ottawa finished 7-11 that year. Barnes also played with

Shreveport Pirates The Shreveport Pirates were a Canadian Football League team, playing at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana, United States, in 1994 and 1995. Despite a relatively strong fan base, they were one of the least successful of the CFL's A ...

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

and

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

but ended his career in 1996 with Ottawa the last season for the Rough Riders. A fitting end for one of the last crowd favorites as a Rough Rider.

References

Ottawa Rough Riders players Shreveport Pirates players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Toronto Argonauts players Delaware State Hornets football players Canadian football running backs African-American players of Canadian football American football running backs 1967 births Living people Canadian Football League Rookie of the Year Award winners Players of Canadian football from Philadelphia Players of American football from Philadelphia 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople {{Canadianfootball-runningback-stub