1979 BC Lions season

The 1979 BC Lions finished in third place in the Western Conference with a 9–6–1 record. They appeared in the Western Semi-Final.

1979 BC Lions season
General manager	Bob Ackles
Head coach	Vic Rapp
Home field	Empire Stadium
Results
Record	9–6–1
Division place	3rd, West
Playoff finish	Lost Western Semi-Final
← 1978 BC Lions seasons 1980 →

Jerry Tagge had a great start to the season and led the Lions to a 6–1–1 record. However, he suffered a catastrophic knee injury mid-season that would end his career. Under sophomore backup Joe Paopao, the Lions lost five, but finished third with a 9-6-1 record, before bowing out to Calgary in the semi-final. The duo threat backfield of Larry Key with 1060 rushing yards & 289 receiving yards and John Henry White with 776 rushing yards & 422 receiving yards help carry the team after Tagge went down.

Key was a CFL All-star, along with Centre Al Wilson (for 5th straight season) and kicker Lui Passaglia who was led the league punting and was 2nd in league scoring.

After the season, "Dirty Thirty" Jim Young retired from football after 13 seasons. He retired as the Lions all-time leading receiver with 9248 yards and 65 touchdowns. Young's receiving yardage record would stand for 31 years.

Norm Fieldgate became the second Lions player to be inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

Offseason

CFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School

Roster

1979 BC Lions roster
Quarterbacks 6 Joe Paopao 8 Jerry Tagge Running backs 11 Larry Key 20 John Henry White Wide receivers Slotbacks 30 Jim Young		Offensive linemen Defensive linemen		Linebackers 45 Sam Britts 37 Glen Jackson Defensive backs Special teams 5 Lui Passaglia K/P		Inactive List (1 Game) (9 Game) Practice Roster Italics indicate Import players

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	12	2	2	495	219	26
Calgary Stampeders	16	12	4	0	382	278	24
BC Lions	16	9	6	1	328	333	19
Winnipeg Blue Bombers	16	4	12	0	283	340	8
Saskatchewan Roughriders	16	2	14	0	194	437	4

^[1]

Season schedule

Week	Game	Date	Opponent	Results
				Score	Record
1	1	July 11	at Saskatchewan Roughriders	W 28–4	1–0
2	2	July 17	vs. Montreal Alouettes	W 25–10	2–0
3	3	July 24	at Winnipeg Blue Bombers	W 19–18	3–0
4	4	July 31	vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders	W 24–15	4–0
5	5	Aug 7	vs. Edmonton Eskimos	T 14–14	4–0–1
6	6	Aug 15	at Calgary Stampeders	L 10–22	4–1–1
7	7	Aug 21	at Hamilton Tiger-Cats	W 22–16	5–1–1
8	8	Aug 28	vs. Calgary Stampeders	W 18–17	6–1–1
9	Bye
10	9	Sept 9	at Winnipeg Blue Bombers	W 17–15	7–1–1
11	10	Sept 16	at Edmonton Eskimos	L 8–40	7–2–1
12	11	Sept 22	vs. Toronto Argonauts	W 34–25	8–2–1
13	12	Sept 29	vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers	W 22–21	9–2–1
14	Bye
15	13	Oct 14	at Ottawa Rough Riders	L 26–28	9–3–1
16	14	Oct 20	vs. Calgary Stampeders	L 32–37	9–4–1
17	15	Oct 28	at Saskatchewan Roughriders	L 12–26	9–5–1
18	16	Nov 3	vs. Edmonton Eskimos	L 17–25	9–6–1

^[2]

Playoffs

West Semi-Final

Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Total
BC Lions	1	0	0	1	2
Calgary Stampeders	3	5	29	0	37

Offensive leaders

Player	Passing yds	Rushing yds	Receiving yds	TD
Joe Paopao	1508	16	0	0
Jerry Tagge	1131	38	0	0
Larry Key		1060	289	9
John Henry White		776	422	5
Leon Bright		7	569	5
Harry Holt		51	560	3
Al Charuk		0	515	3
Tyrone Gray		0	356	1

Awards and records

1979 CFL All-Stars

• RB – Larry Key, CFL All-Star
• C – Al Wilson, CFL All-Star
• K – Lui Passaglia, CFL All-Star

References

1. "CFL.ca". Archived from the original on 2012-06-16. Retrieved 2009-07-03.
2. "British Columbia Lions All-Time Canadian Football League (CFL) Records". Archived from the original on 2009-03-11. Retrieved 2009-03-08.