The

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

BC Lions finished in fourth place in the Western Conference with a 6–10 record and failed to make the playoffs. New coach Jackie Parker had led the team to a 4–2 record in the final six games of 1969 after taking over for Jim Champion and there was reason for optimism after a 5–3 start to 1970. However, the wheels fell off in the fall as the Lions won only one game in the second half of the season. Before the season, Empire Stadium became the first facility in Canada to have artificial playing surface installed, made by 3M, under the brand name "Tartan Turf". Running back Jim Evenson had his third consecutive 1,000-yard season with 1003 yards in an injury-shortened 14 games and receiver

Jim Young James Norman Young (born June 6, 1943) is a former professional American football and Canadian football player. Young played running back and wide receiver for the NFL's Minnesota Vikings for two seasons (1965–66), and the CFL's BC Lions f ...

had 1041 yards receiving. The big offseason addition of Ottawa star Vic Washington was a bust as he played only 9 games and was openly disgruntled for most of season. For the first time in five seasons, the Lions had CFL All-stars as Evenson, guard

Ken Sugarman Ken Sugarman (born June 16, 1942) is a former professional Canadian football player with the Canadian Football League's the British Columbia Lions. After playing college football at Whitworth College, Sugarman spent his entire 9-year CFL caree ...

and linebacker

Greg Findlay Donald George MacGregor Findlay (August 24, 1942 – May 11, 2021) was a professional Canadian football linebacker who played 12 years in the Canadian Football League for the BC Lions from 1962 to 1973. In 1971, while still an active player, Find ...

were all league all-stars. Young won the

CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award The Most Outstanding Canadian Award is annually awarded to the best Canadian player in the Canadian Football League. The two nominees for the award are the Lew Hayman Trophy winner from the East Division, and the Dr. Beattie Martin Trophy winner ...

. The Lions introduced a new jersey which featured orange "ti-cat" stripes down the arms of home and away jerseys. As well, the Lions went to grey pants which they would wear for the next eight seasons. The "BC" on the lion's cheek was black for only this season; all other seasons it was white because it showed up better on television. After the season, Jackie Parker was promoted to general manager and he hired Eagle Keys away from Saskatchewan to become head coach of the Lions for the 1971 season.

Offseason

CFL Draft

Preseason

Regular season

Season standings

Season schedule

Offensive leaders

Awards and records

–

(WR)

1970 CFL All-Stars

*RB – Jim Evenson, CFL All-Star *OG – Ken Sugerman, CFL All-Star *LB –

, CFL All-Star

References

BC Lions seasons 1970 Canadian Football League season by team 1970 in British Columbia 1970 in sports in British Columbia {{Canadianfootball-stub