1961 BC Lions season

Canadian football team season March 2026 BC Lions 1961 1–13–2 5th, West Herb Capozzi Wayne RobinsonDave Skrien Empire Stadium did not qualify Image:CFL BCL Jersey 1960.png The 1961 BC Lions finished the season in fifth place in the Western Conference with a disappointing 1–13–2 record and failed to make the playoffs. There was, however, a bright side to the season as fundamental building blocks were in place. In the off-season, the Lions signed Linebacker/Guard Tom Brown who would become an important part of the Lions' defense. On August 24, the Lions traded four players to Calgary for Quarterback Joe Kapp and while the results were not immediate they would prove to be critical in future seasons. Due to the poor record and play, fan attendance dropped drastically, as the Lions averaged 24,000 fans per game. It also cost head coach Wayne Robinson his job as he was fired after winless first seven games in favour of Dave Skrien on September 12. This was also the first season that the CFL introduced inter-conference games, with the first regular season games against the Ottawa Rough Riders, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Montreal Alouettes and Toronto Argonauts coming in 1961. Preseason Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance Score Record A Thu, July 20 at Toronto Argonauts L 17–28 0–1 Exhibition Stadium 22,415 B Mon, July 24 vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats W 38–27 1–1 Empire Stadium 18,769 C Sat, July 29 vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders W 13–3 2–1 University of Washington Stadium* 28,000 D Tue, Aug 1 vs. Ottawa Rough Riders L 14–22 2–2 Empire Stadium 17,988 Game played in Seattle. Regular season Season standings + Western Football Conference Team GP W L T PF PA PtsWinnipeg Blue Bombers 16 13 3 0 360 251 26 Edmonton Eskimos 16 10 5 1 334 257 21 Calgary Stampeders 16 7 9 0 300 311 14Saskatchewan Roughriders 16 5 10 1 211 314 11 BC Lions 16 1 13 2 215 393 4 CFL.ca https://www.cfl.ca/standings/1961/reg https://web.archive.org/web/20090721010700/http://www.cfl.ca/standings/1961/reg 2009-07-21 dead 2009-07-01 Season schedule Game Date Opponent Results Score Record 1 Aug 7 vs. Edmonton Eskimos L 19–29 0–1 2 Aug 12 at Ottawa Rough Riders L 7–41 0–2 3 Aug 15 at Hamilton Tiger-Cats L 21–30 0–3 4 Aug 21 vs. Montreal Alouettes T 7–7 0–3–1 5 Aug 24 at Saskatchewan Roughriders L 6–25 0–4–1 6 Aug 28 at Edmonton Eskimos L 20–21 0–5–1 7 Sept 9 vs. Calgary Stampeders L 17–35 0–6–1 8 Sept 14 at Winnipeg Blue Bombers L 15–36 0–7–1 9 Sept 18 vs. Toronto Argonauts L 7–15 0–8–1 10 Sept 23 at Calgary Stampeders L 9–28 0–9–1 11 Sept 30 vs. Edmonton Eskimos W 21–9 1–9–1 12 Oct 7 at Winnipeg Blue Bombers L 20–24 1–10–1 13 Oct 9 at Saskatchewan Roughriders L 7–17 1–11–1 14 Oct 16 vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers L 15–16 1–12–1 15 Oct 28 vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders T 17–17 1–12–2 16 Nov 5 vs. Calgary Stampeders L 7–43 1–13–2BC 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 Offensive leaders Player Passing ydsRushing ydsReceiving ydsTD Joe Kapp 1719 12700 Nub Beamer 8781089 Willie Fleming 4686809 Dick Johnson 06454 By Bailey 3861251 Pat Claridge 03270 1961 CFL awards None References Category:BC Lions seasons Category:1961 Canadian Football League season by team Category:1961 in British Columbia Category:1961 in sports in British Columbia