For many Saskatchewan Roughriders fans, Robert Mimbs is remembered as one of the toughest and most productive running backs ever to wear green and white.
His time in Regina may have lasted just three seasons, but the impact he made remains unforgettable. Now, nearly three decades later, Mimbs is once again a familiar face around Mosaic Stadium, this time proudly watching his son, D'Sean, begin his own journey with the Roughriders.
"It's really enjoyable to see him fulfill his dream," Mimbs said. "It always starts when they're young, and they say, 'I want to do this.' You've been through it, and you say, 'Just keep working hard.' When it really happens, it really happens. So I'm truly blessed and happy for him."
Before becoming a proud football father, Robert Mimbs built one of the CFL's most accomplished careers. After spending time with the New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys and Phoenix Cardinals organizations, Mimbs headed north in 1990 looking for one thing.
"I got tired of the bouncing around in the NFL," he said. "I knew I could play. I just wanted to come up here and play football. Then everything just took off for me."
It certainly did. Mimbs exploded onto the CFL scene with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, winning the rushing title in each of his first two seasons while helping Winnipeg capture the 1990 Grey Cup. In 1991, he set a CFL record with 2,207 yards from scrimmage and finished runner-up for the league's Most Outstanding Player award.
Looking back, Mimbs still considers that Grey Cup championship the highlight of his career.
"It was probably the most fun time of my whole career," he said. "We had so many new guys, and we were all learning the Canadian game together. I really enjoyed learning the game."
After stops in Winnipeg and B.C., Mimbs arrived in Saskatchewan late in the 1995 season determined to prove he was still among the CFL's elite.
"I couldn't believe some of the things that happened," Mimbs recalled. "I figured, 'I'm one of the best in the league. I should be on a team.' If I got my shot again, I'd prove it. I was able to do that."
He wasted little time making his case. Despite joining the Roughriders with only six games remaining in 1995, Mimbs rushed for 444 yards, setting the stage for one of the best comeback seasons in franchise history.
Then came 1996. Mimbs led the CFL with 1,403 rushing yards and 1,738 yards from scrimmage while earning his third All-Canadian selection, the Roughriders' Most Outstanding Player award and another runner-up finish for the CFL's Most Outstanding Player honour.
His only disappointment?
"We didn't make the playoffs," Mimbs said. "I think we went through probably five or six different quarterbacks. Everybody knew we were running the ball. So I said, 'Let me put an extra pad on and let's go.'"
Mimbs quickly discovered football in Saskatchewan was unlike anywhere else. He had experienced Labour Day Classics as a visitor while playing for Winnipeg, but life as a Roughrider was something entirely different.
"I didn't know it was this small to where everywhere you went, they knew who you were," he said with a laugh. "I'm like, 'Oh my God, I can't even go get groceries.'"
The game itself was also different in the 1990s.
"I think it was really physical back then," Mimbs said. "You had to buckle up. Because the field is so wide, you learned how to use it. You learned to cut back instead of trying to outrun everybody to the sideline."
Today's CFL, he says, is a different world. Players enjoy state-of-the-art facilities, full-time strength coaches, nutrition programs and amenities that didn't exist during his playing days.
"We didn't have a running backs coach. We didn't have a strength coach," Mimbs said. "You just kind of did everything on your own."
Now, the three-time CFL all-star has traded carrying the football for watching from the stands. Like any parent, he admits it's far more nerve-racking than playing.
"I could control everything when I played," Mimbs said. "Watching him, I can't control anything. You hope the best for your son and the team."
Robert Mimbs' legacy in Saskatchewan was built on punishing runs, perseverance and proving doubters wrong. As one of the most productive running backs to ever wear Rider green, his place in franchise history is secure.
Now, with D'Sean beginning to carve out his own story in Saskatchewan, the Mimbs name continues to be part of the Roughriders' present, just as it was one of the brightest chapters in the club's past.
