Bobby Singh
Encyclopedia
Bobby Singh is a retired professional American and Canadian football
guard
. He last played for the BC Lions
of the Canadian Football League
. He was drafted by the Calgary Stampeders
in the first round of the 1999 CFL Draft
.
Singh has also played for the St. Louis Rams
, Los Angeles Xtreme
and Winnipeg Blue Bombers
.
descent. The family moved to Richmond, British Columbia
when Bobby was two years old. He attended Garden City School, Palmer Junior Secondary School
, and graduated from Richmond Senior Secondary School
. Throughout his school years, he was active in sports, including football, basketball
, and track and field
.
Conference Academic. He transferred to Portland State University in 1997, where he was named first team All-Big Sky
in his junior year, and All-American/All-Conference/Scholar Athlete of the Year in his senior year. He was a team captain for both his years at Portland State. He graduated with a degree in sociology
.
with the St. Louis Rams, winning a Super Bowl ring
in Super Bowl XXXIV
while on the Rams' practice roster. He underwent back surgery, was released after the season, and spent the 2000 season recovering. In 2001, he signed with the Los Angeles Xtreme
of the XFL
, playing in six regular season and two playoff games, and winning that league's first and only championship, the Million Dollar Game
. He then signed with the San Diego Chargers
, but was released at the end of training camp.
In 2002, he signed with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League, becoming a starter
by the fifth game of the season
and playing in sixteen regular season games. After a strong season with Stampeders in 2003, he was named as a finalist for the CFL's Outstanding Canadian Award and CFL's Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award
. Singh signed with the BC Lions in March 2004. During the 2004 season
, he missed five games due to a triceps injury. He started all but two games of the 2005 season
, including the Scotiabank West Championship (the CFL West Division final), which the Lions lost to the Edmonton Eskimos
by the score of 28-23. Singh was the only member of a troubled Lions' offensive line—the team gave up a league-worst 74 sacks—who did not allow a sack, and was the Lions' 2005 nomination for Outstanding Lineman. In March 2006, Singh signed a four year contract with the BC Lions. Singh dressed for twelve games in 2006
, as well as the West Division final and Grey Cup
, which the Lions won over the Montreal Alouettes
25-14, but missed six games due to injury and was used sparingly late in the season. He was released by the Lions on April 5, 2007. Lions head coach and general manager Wally Buono
called it a "difficult decision" necessitated by the CFL's new salary cap
, though Singh had offered to take a pay cut. Within a week, Singh had signed with his original CFL team, the Calgary Stampeders. Though he had entertained offers from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Toronto Argonauts
, Calgary's proximity to Vancouver was a factor in his decision to sign with the Stampeders, and would allow him to fulfill his duties as school trustee. He was released by Calgary just prior to the 2008 CFL season
, and was signed by Winnipeg on Sept. 18, 2008. Singh is the only player to win a Super Bowl, XFL Championship and a Grey Cup.
He was released by the Bombers on May 15, 2009.
Singh re-signed with the BC Lions on June 25, 2009.
area, such as youth football programs and the Richmond Boys and Girls Club
. In November 2005, he was elected to the Richmond School Board, taking the seventh and final School Trustee position with 9152 votes. He also started a security company, Xtreme Security Ltd., during the 2005-2006 off-season. He lives in Steveston, British Columbia
with his wife Alexis and their three children Bobby Jr., Kameron and Alyssa. He is currently assistant coach of the Richmond Raiders Peewee team.
Gridiron football
Gridiron football , sometimes known as North American football, is an umbrella term for related codes of football primarily played in the United States and Canada. The predominant forms of gridiron football are American football and Canadian football...
guard
Guard (American football)
In American and Canadian football, a guard is a player that lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team....
. He last played for the BC Lions
BC Lions
The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team competing in the West Division of Canadian Football League . Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, the Lions play their home games at BC Place Stadium in Downtown Vancouver, having previously played at Empire Stadium in East Vancouver from 1954...
of the Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
. He was drafted by the Calgary Stampeders
Calgary Stampeders
The Calgary Stampeders are a Canadian Football League team based in Calgary, Alberta and named in reference to the Calgary Stampede. The Stampeders play their home games at McMahon Stadium...
in the first round of the 1999 CFL Draft
1999 CFL Draft
The 1999 CFL Draft composed of 43 Canadian football players that were chosen from eligible players from Canadian universities as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA.- Round one :- Round two :- Round three :- Round four :- Round five :...
.
Singh has also played for the St. Louis Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
, Los Angeles Xtreme
Los Angeles Xtreme
The Los Angeles Xtreme was a professional American football team based in Los Angeles, California. The team was a member of the XFL begun by Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment and by NBC, a major television network in the United States. The team played its home games in the Los Angeles...
and Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League . They play their home games at Canad Inns Stadium, and plan to move to a new stadium for the 2012 season.The Blue Bombers were founded...
.
Early years
Singh was born in Fiji to parents Malkit and Mindy who are of IndianNon-resident Indian and Person of Indian Origin
A Non-Resident Indian is an Indian citizen who has migrated to another country, a person of Indian origin who is born outside India, or a person of Indian origin who resides permanently outside India. Other terms with the same meaning are overseas Indian and expatriate Indian...
descent. The family moved to Richmond, British Columbia
Richmond, British Columbia
Richmond is a coastal city, incorporated in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Part of Metro Vancouver, its neighbouring communities are Vancouver and Burnaby to the north, New Westminster to the east, and Delta to the south, while the Strait of Georgia forms its western border...
when Bobby was two years old. He attended Garden City School, Palmer Junior Secondary School
Robert Cecil Palmer Secondary School
Robert Cecil Palmer Secondary School is a secondary school situated in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada which educates students in grades 8-12.- Science Team :...
, and graduated from Richmond Senior Secondary School
Richmond Secondary School
Richmond Secondary School, is a public, co-educational secondary school located in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, that educates approximately 1200 students from grades 8 to 12...
. Throughout his school years, he was active in sports, including football, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, and track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
.
College career
After graduating from high school, he earned a full football scholarship to the University of Hawaii. He played sparingly in 1995, but in 1996 started eleven games for the Warriors and was named an all-WACWestern Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference is an American collegiate athletic conference, which was formed on July 27, 1962, making it the sixth oldest of the 11 college athletic conferences currently participating in the NCAA's Division I FBS...
Conference Academic. He transferred to Portland State University in 1997, where he was named first team All-Big Sky
Big Sky Conference
The Big Sky Conference is an intercollegiate college athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I, with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. The BSC was founded in 1963. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the states of Arizona,...
in his junior year, and All-American/All-Conference/Scholar Athlete of the Year in his senior year. He was a team captain for both his years at Portland State. He graduated with a degree in sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
.
Professional career
Singh was drafted in the first round, eighth overall by the Calgary Stampeders in the 1999 Canadian College Draft. He signed as a free agentFree agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
with the St. Louis Rams, winning a Super Bowl ring
Super Bowl ring
The Super Bowl ring is an award in the National Football League given to the winners of the league's annual championship game, the Super Bowl...
in Super Bowl XXXIV
Super Bowl XXXIV
Super Bowl XXXIV featured the National Football Conference champion St. Louis Rams and the American Football Conference champion Tennessee Titans in an American football game to decide the National Football League champion for the 1999 regular season...
while on the Rams' practice roster. He underwent back surgery, was released after the season, and spent the 2000 season recovering. In 2001, he signed with the Los Angeles Xtreme
Los Angeles Xtreme
The Los Angeles Xtreme was a professional American football team based in Los Angeles, California. The team was a member of the XFL begun by Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment and by NBC, a major television network in the United States. The team played its home games in the Los Angeles...
of the XFL
XFL
The XFL was a professional American football league that played for one season in 2001. The league was founded by Vince McMahon, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of WWE...
, playing in six regular season and two playoff games, and winning that league's first and only championship, the Million Dollar Game
Million Dollar Game
The Million Dollar Game was the XFL's championship game at the end of its only season in 2001. At first it had no special name, then was going to be called "The Big Game at the End," but eventually received the name it ended up with because a pot of one million dollars was to be split among the...
. He then signed with the San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, but was released at the end of training camp.
In 2002, he signed with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League, becoming a starter
Starting lineup
A starting lineup in sports is an official list of the set of players who will actively participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes or bench players.The starters are commonly the best...
by the fifth game of the season
2002 CFL season
The 2002 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 49th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 45th Canadian Football League season.-CFL News in 2002:...
and playing in sixteen regular season games. After a strong season with Stampeders in 2003, he was named as a finalist for the CFL's Outstanding Canadian Award and CFL's Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award
CFL's Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award
The Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award is annually rewarded to the best offensive lineman in the Canadian Football League. This is the fourth-last award to be given during the CFL Awards banquet, which takes place the week before Grey Cup weekend in the same city where it is hosted...
. Singh signed with the BC Lions in March 2004. During the 2004 season
2004 CFL season
The 2004 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 51st season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 47th Canadian Football League season.-CFL News in 2004:...
, he missed five games due to a triceps injury. He started all but two games of the 2005 season
2005 CFL season
The 2005 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 52nd season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 48th Canadian Football League season.-CFL News in 2005:...
, including the Scotiabank West Championship (the CFL West Division final), which the Lions lost to the Edmonton Eskimos
Edmonton Eskimos
The Edmonton Eskimos are a Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. They currently play in the West Division of the Canadian Football League . Edmonton is currently the third-youngest franchise in the CFL, although there were clubs with the name Edmonton Eskimos as early as 1895...
by the score of 28-23. Singh was the only member of a troubled Lions' offensive line—the team gave up a league-worst 74 sacks—who did not allow a sack, and was the Lions' 2005 nomination for Outstanding Lineman. In March 2006, Singh signed a four year contract with the BC Lions. Singh dressed for twelve games in 2006
2006 CFL season
-2006 Rogers CFL Awards:* CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award – Geroy Simon , BC Lions* CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award – Brent Johnson , BC Lions* CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award – Brent Johnson , BC Lions...
, as well as the West Division final and Grey Cup
94th Grey Cup
The 94th Grey Cup game took place on November 19, 2006, at Canad Inns Stadium in Winnipeg, Manitoba before 44,786 fans. Ticket prices ranged from $141 and $275.The game decided the championship of the 2006 Canadian Football League season...
, which the Lions won over the Montreal Alouettes
Montreal Alouettes
The Montreal Alouettes are a Canadian Football League team based in Montreal, Quebec.The current franchise named the Alouettes moved to Montreal from Baltimore, Maryland, in 1996 where they had been known as the Baltimore Stallions...
25-14, but missed six games due to injury and was used sparingly late in the season. He was released by the Lions on April 5, 2007. Lions head coach and general manager Wally Buono
Wally Buono
Pasquale "Wally" Buono is the head coach, general manager and alternate governor of the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League, and one of the most successful coaches in league history. He is in his 19th year of coaching, previously as head coach of the Calgary Stampeders and currently with the...
called it a "difficult decision" necessitated by the CFL's new salary cap
Salary cap
In professional sports, a salary cap is a cartel agreement between teams that places a limit on the amount of money that can be spent on player salaries. The limit exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both...
, though Singh had offered to take a pay cut. Within a week, Singh had signed with his original CFL team, the Calgary Stampeders. Though he had entertained offers from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Toronto Argonauts
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...
, Calgary's proximity to Vancouver was a factor in his decision to sign with the Stampeders, and would allow him to fulfill his duties as school trustee. He was released by Calgary just prior to the 2008 CFL season
2008 CFL season
The 2008 CFL season was the 55th season of modern Canadian professional football. Officially, it was the 51st season for the league. It was also the first CFL season in which all of the league's regular season and post-season games, including the Grey Cup game, were aired on TSN. This meant the CFL...
, and was signed by Winnipeg on Sept. 18, 2008. Singh is the only player to win a Super Bowl, XFL Championship and a Grey Cup.
He was released by the Bombers on May 15, 2009.
Singh re-signed with the BC Lions on June 25, 2009.
Outside football
Singh is involved in a variety of volunteer and community work in the VancouverVancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
area, such as youth football programs and the Richmond Boys and Girls Club
Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada
'Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada is a national youth organization of associated clubs throughout Canada, primarily serving underprivileged youth in communities throughout the country....
. In November 2005, he was elected to the Richmond School Board, taking the seventh and final School Trustee position with 9152 votes. He also started a security company, Xtreme Security Ltd., during the 2005-2006 off-season. He lives in Steveston, British Columbia
Steveston, British Columbia
Steveston was originally a small town near Vancouver, British Columbia, but has since been absorbed into the city of Richmond, British Columbia....
with his wife Alexis and their three children Bobby Jr., Kameron and Alyssa. He is currently assistant coach of the Richmond Raiders Peewee team.
External links
- Bobby Singh at CFL.ca