1973 BC Lions season

1973 BC Lions season
General manager	Jackie Parker
Head coach	Eagle Keys
Home field	Empire Stadium
Results
Record	5–9–2
Division place	3rd, West
Playoff finish	Lost Western Semi-Final
Uniform

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

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School

Preseason

Game	Date	Opponent	Results		Venue	Attendance
			Score	Record

Regular season

Season standings

Western Football Conference

Team	GP	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pts
Edmonton 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

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	5–9–2

Playoffs

Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Total
BC Lions	?	?	?	?	13
Saskatchewan Roughriders	?	?	?	?	33

Offensive leaders

Player	Passing yds	Rushing yds	Receiving yds	TD
Don Moorhead	2005	283	0	0
Karl Douglas	1020	88	0	1
Johnny Musso		1029	475	10
Lou Harris		482	416	6
Monroe Eley		373	338	3
Jim Young		49	719	3
Lefty Hendrickson		0	631	3

Awards and records

• CFL's Most Outstanding Lineman Award – Ray Nettles (LB)

1973 CFL All-Stars

• LB – Ray Nettles, CFL All-Star