1973 BC Lions season

Canadian football team season March 2026 BC Lions 1973 5–9–2 3rd, West Jackie Parker Eagle Keys Empire Stadium Lost Western Semi-Final Image:CFL BCL Jersey 1973.png The 1973 BC Lions finished in third place in the Western Conference with a 5–9–2 record. They beat the Calgary Stampeders in the final game of the regular season to make the playoffs. However, the Lions would lose to Saskatchewan in the Western Semi-Final 33–13. In April, the Lions traded star fullback Jim Evenson to Ottawa. This would result in more carries for sophomore Johnny Musso, star running back from University of Alabama, who the Lions outbid the Chicago Bears of the NFL in 1972. Musso didn't disappoint as he ran for 1029 yards in 1973, had 475 yards receiving and scored 10 touchdowns. Third year starting quarterback Don Moorhead split time with back-up Karl Douglas as the Lions tried to find the solution to their stagnant offence which produced only 16.3 points per game. In aggregate, both quarterbacks could only generate eight touchdowns through the air all season. Sophomore linebacker Ray Nettles won the Schenley award for Most Outstanding Defensive Player and was the only Lion named to the CFL all-star team. Linebacker Greg Findlay retired after 12 seasons and 178 games for the Lions. Offseason CFL draft RoundPickPlayerPositionSchool Preseason Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance Score Record Regular season Season standings + Western Football Conference Team GP W L T PF PA PtsEdmonton Eskimos 16 9 5 2 329 284 20 Saskatchewan Roughriders 16 10 6 0 360 287 20 BC Lions 16 5 9 2 261 328 12 Calgary Stampeders 16 6 10 0 214 368 12 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 16 4 11 1 267 315 9 CFL.ca https://www.cfl.ca/standings/1973/reg https://web.archive.org/web/20091006092121/http://www.cfl.ca/standings/1973/reg 2009-10-06 dead 2009-07-03 Season schedule Game Date Opponent Results Score Record 1 July 31 vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders L 5–21 0–1 2 Aug 8 at Saskatchewan Roughriders L 19–38 0–2 3 Aug 14 vs. Edmonton Eskimos W 30–11 1–2 4 Aug 22 at Winnipeg Blue Bombers W 23–19 2–2 5 Aug 28 vs. Calgary Stampeders W 9–2 3–2 6 Sept 3 at Hamilton Tiger-Cats L 24–44 3–3 7 Sept 5 at Ottawa Rough Riders L 24–26 3–4 8 Sept 11 vs. Montreal Alouettes L 7–10 3–5 9 Sept 18 vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers L 13–33 3–6 10 Sept 23 at Calgary Stampeders L 12–13 3–7 11 Sept 29 vs. Toronto Argonauts T 22–22 3–7–1 12 Oct 7 at Saskatchewan Roughriders L 9–24 3–8–1 13 Oct 13 vs. Edmonton Eskimos L 13–27 3–9–1 14 Oct 20 at Edmonton Eskimos T 14–14 3–9–2 15 Oct 28 at Winnipeg Blue Bombers W 22–17 4–9–2 16 Nov 3 vs. Calgary Stampeders W 15–7 5–9–2British Columbia Lions All-Time Canadian Football League (CFL) Records http://michigan-football.com/cfl/f/brcolumb.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20090311040646/http://michigan-football.com/cfl/f/brcolumb.htm 2009-03-11 live 2009-03-08 Playoffs Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 TotalBC Lions ? ? ? ? 13Saskatchewan Roughriders ? ? ? ? 33 Offensive leaders Player Passing ydsRushing ydsReceiving ydsTD Don Moorhead 2005 28300 Karl Douglas 1020 8801 Johnny Musso 102947510 Lou Harris 4824166 Monroe Eley 3733383 Jim Young 497193 Lefty Hendrickson 0 6313 Roster 1973 BC Lions final roster Quarterbacks 16 I Karl Douglas 12 N Eric Guthrie P 27 I Don Moorhead Running backs 26 I Monroe Eley 35 N Ted Gerela K 31 I Lou Harris 22 I Johnny Musso Wide receivers 17 N Brock Aynsley 21 N Ross Clarkson 74 N Slade Willis 30 N Jim Young Tight ends 71 N Lefty Hendrickson Offensive linemen 54 I Steve Beyrle T 66 N Trev Ekdahl G 68 I Mike LaHood G 62 I Layne McDowell T 40 N Gus Revenberg C 60 N Brian Sopatyk G 61 I Curtis Wester T 58 I Ted Wheeler T 52 N Al Wilson C Defensive linemen 79 N Greg Findlay DE 64 I Garrett Hunsperger DT 65 I Bud Magrum DT 67 N Gary Robinson DT 78 I Mike Samples DT 69 I Mike Walker DE Linebackers 77 N George Anderson 51 I Ray Nettles 70 N Pete Palmer 55 I Carl Weathers Defensive backs 10 N Barry Ardern 11 N Brian Donnelly 14 I Joe Fourqurean 25 N Bob Friend 18 I Rocky Long 15 I Wayne Matherne 24 I Mike Wilson Special teams 76 N Ivan MacMillan K Italics indicate International player Awards and records CFL's Most Outstanding Lineman Award – Ray Nettles (LB) 1973 CFL All-Stars LB – Ray Nettles, CFL All-Star References Category:BC Lions seasons Category:1973 Canadian Football League season by team Category:1973 in British Columbia Category:1973 in sports in British Columbia