1961 BC Lions season
General managerHerb Capozzi
Head coachWayne Robinson
Dave Skrien
Home fieldEmpire Stadium
Results
Record1–13–2
Division place5th, West
Playoff finishdid not qualify
Uniform

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.

Regular season

Season standings

Western Football Conference
Team GP W L T PF PA Pts
Winnipeg 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 14
Saskatchewan Roughriders 16 5 10 1 211 314 11
BC Lions 16 1 13 2 215 393 4

[1]

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 1–13–2

[2]

Offensive leaders

Player Passing yds Rushing yds Receiving yds TD
Joe Kapp 1719 127 0 0
Nub Beamer 878 108 9
Willie Fleming 468 680 9
Dick Johnson 0 645 4
By Bailey 386 125 1
Pat Claridge 0 327 0

1961 CFL Awards

None

References

  1. ^ "CFL.ca". Archived from the original on 2009-07-21. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
  2. ^ "BC Lions All-Time Canadian Football League (CFL) Records". Archived from the original on 2009-03-11. Retrieved 2009-03-08.


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