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1959 BC Lions season

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1959 BC Lions season
General managerHerb Capozzi
Head coachWayne Robinson
Home fieldEmpire Stadium
Results
Record9–7
Division place3rd, West
Playoff finishLost Western Semi-Final

The 1959 BC Lions finished the season in third place in the W.I.F.U. with a 9–7 record and made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. After hiring new coach Wayne Robinson and signing University of Iowa stars Randy Duncan (#1 overall pick in the NFL Draft) and Willie Fleming, the Lions were a much different team compared to the one a year before.

The battle for a playoff spot came down to the last game of the season against the Calgary Stampeders, with both clubs holding 8–7 records, the loser would be out of the playoffs. The Lions won the game 10–8 and secured the first playoff spot in franchise history as well as the first home playoff game (the first in a two-game series). The Lions season would come to an end in the combined 61–15 West semi-finals loss to Edmonton, but the foundation had been laid for future success.

The Lions changed their uniforms to a primarily Black scheme for the first time and introduced a "1930s-style" winged football helmet design.

Regular season

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Season standings

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Western Interprovincial Football Union
Team GP W L T PF PA Pts
Winnipeg Blue Bombers 16 12 4 0 418 272 24
Edmonton Eskimos 16 10 6 0 370 221 20
BC Lions 16 9 7 0 306 301 18
Calgary Stampeders 16 8 8 0 356 301 16
Saskatchewan Roughriders 16 1 15 0 212 567 2

[1]

Season schedule

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Game Date Opponent Results
Score Record
1 Aug 13 vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers L 20–42 0–1
2 Aug 17 at Edmonton Eskimos W 12–0 1–1
3 Aug 20 vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders W 36–21 2–1
4 Aug 24 at Calgary Stampeders L 17–29 2–2
5 Aug 31 vs. Edmonton Eskimos W 8–7 3–2
6 Sept 3 at Winnipeg Blue Bombers L 23–34 3–3
7 Sept 7 at Saskatchewan Roughriders W 35–17 4–3
8 Sept 14 vs. Calgary Stampeders W 14–8 5–3
9 Sept 19 vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers W 17–6 6–3
10 Sept 21 at Edmonton Eskimos L 7–29 6–4
11 Sept 26 at Calgary Stampeders W 28–10 7–4
12 Oct 5 vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders L 14–15 7–5
13 Oct 10 vs. Edmonton Eskimos L 14–38 7–6
14 Oct 17 at Winnipeg Blue Bombers L 6–31 7–7
15 Oct 19 at Saskatchewan Roughriders W 45–6 8–7
16 Oct 24 vs. Calgary Stampeders W 10–8 9–7

[2]

Playoffs

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Semi-finals

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Western semi-finals – Game 1
Edmonton Eskimos @ BC Lions
Date Away Home
Oct 31 Edmonton Eskimos 20 BC Lions 8
Western semi-finals – Game 2
BC Lions @ Edmonton Eskimos
Date Away Home
November 4 BC Lions 7 Edmonton Eskimos 41
  • Edmonton won the total-point series by 61–15. The Eskimos will play the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Western Finals.

Offensive leaders

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Player Passing yds Rushing yds Receiving yds TD
Randy Duncan 2746 123 0 0
Willie Fleming 774 517 7
Ed Vereb 648 544 4
Don Vicic 802 83 6
Jerry Janes 0 936 6
Bruce Claridge 0 519 4

1959 CFL Awards

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None

References

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  1. ^ "CFL.ca". Archived from the original on 2011-06-10. 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.