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 RoundPickPlayerPositionSchool

Preseason Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance Score Record

Regular season Season standings + Western Football Conference Team GP W L T PF PA PtsEdmonton 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 TotalBC Lions ? ? ? ? 13Saskatchewan Roughriders ? ? ? ? 33

Offensive leaders Player Passing ydsRushing ydsReceiving ydsTD Don Moorhead 2005 28300 Karl Douglas 1020 8801 Johnny Musso 102947510 Lou Harris 4824166 Monroe Eley 3733383 Jim Young 497193 Lefty Hendrickson 0 6313 Roster 1973 BC Lions final roster Quarterbacks

P

Running backs

K

Wide receivers

Tight ends Offensive linemen T G G T C G T T C

Defensive linemen DE DT DT DT DT DE Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams K

Italics indicate International player

Awards and records CFL's Most Outstanding Lineman Award – Ray Nettles (LB)

1973 CFL All-Stars LB – Ray Nettles, CFL All-Star References