1971 BC Lions season

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1971 BC Lions season
General managerJackie Parker
Head coachEagle Keys
Home fieldEmpire Stadium
Results
Record6–9–1
Division place4th, West
Playoff finishdid not qualify
Uniform

The 1971 BC Lions finished in fourth place in the Western Conference, with a 6–9–1 record, and failed to make the playoffs.

On January 1, Eagle Keys was hired as head coach after coaching Saskatchewan to four consecutive 12+ win seasons, including a 14–2 record in 1970. However, the Lions did not have the talent that the Roughriders had accumulated, and the Lions had a second consecutive 6-win season.

Jim Evenson had another outstanding season and finally won the CFL rushing title, with 1247 yards rushing, and was the lone Lion on the CFL all-star team.

During the season rookie Don Moorhead gradually won the starting quarterback job due to injuries and performance issues with incumbent 3-year starter Paul Brothers (who was traded to Ottawa late in the season) and backup Tom Wilkinson.

Carl Weathers, who later became better known as an actor, joined the team as a linebacker and was on the Lions roster until 1973.

For the season, the Lions helmet had a special logo celebrating British Columbia's centennial. The Canadian Confederacy Centennial logo has three orange Cs linked with a small white Pacific dogwood flower at the centre.

Offseason[edit]

CFL Draft[edit]

Round Pick Player Position School

Roster[edit]

1971 BC Lions roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Slotbacks

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Inactive list

Practice roster


Italics indicate import players.

Preseason[edit]

Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance
Score Record

Regular season[edit]

Season standings[edit]

Western Football Conference
Team GP W L T PF PA Pts
Calgary Stampeders 16 9 6 1 290 218 19
Saskatchewan Roughriders 16 9 6 1 347 316 19
Winnipeg Blue Bombers 16 7 8 1 366 349 15
BC Lions 16 6 9 1 282 363 13
Edmonton Eskimos 16 6 10 0 237 305 12

[1]

Season schedule[edit]

Game Date Opponent Results
Score Record
1 July 27 vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders L 10–14 0–1
2 Aug 4 at Edmonton Eskimos L 19–20 0–2
3 Aug 9 at Winnipeg Blue Bombers W 29–16 1–2
4 Aug 18 vs. Edmonton Eskimos W 11–1 2–2
5 Aug 24 at Calgary Stampeders L 1–32 2–3
6 Aug 29 vs. Toronto Argonauts W 27–24 3–3
7 Sept 6 at Saskatchewan Roughriders L 14–35 3–4
8 Sept 12 vs. Calgary Stampeders L 10–25 3–5
9 Sept 19 at Winnipeg Blue Bombers T 31–31 3–5–1
10 Sept 25 vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers W 25–18 4–5–1
11 Oct 2 vs. Montreal Alouettes W 28–0 5–5–1
12 Oct 9 at Ottawa Rough Riders L 21–45 5–6–1
13 Oct 11 at Hamilton Tiger-Cats L 3–36 5–7–1
14 Oct 16 vs. Edmonton Eskimos L 4–9 5–8–1
15 Oct 24 at Saskatchewan Roughriders L 14–50 5–9–1
16 Oct 30 vs. Calgary Stampeders W 31–7 6–9–1

[2]

Offensive leaders[edit]

Player Passing yds Rushing yds Receiving yds TD
Don Moorhead 1302 349 26 1
Jim Evenson 1237 77 8
Jim Young 220 593 7
Larry Highbaugh 327 488 5

Awards and records[edit]

1971 CFL All-Stars[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "CFL.ca". Archived from the original on 2009-10-06. Retrieved 2009-07-04.
  2. ^ "British Columbia Lions All-Time Canadian Football League (CFL) Records". Archived from the original on 2009-03-11. Retrieved 2009-03-08.