Lionbackers.com

1983
Former Edmonton Defensive Co-ordinator Don Matthews was appointed Head Coach in January. The combination of Dewalt to Fernandez led the attack and the defence sets a new CFL record of 42 interceptions as the Lions 11-5 record was the second-best in Club history and returned them to first place for the first time since 1964. The historic year also marked the construction of B.C. Place Stadium, the new home of the Lions which opened in June. B.C. Place is the sight of their Western Final victory over Winnipeg, and the ‘83 Grey Cup game where B.C. faced Toronto to end a 19-year absence from the classic. The Argos take a 18-17 victory to the anguish of hometown fans.

West Division Team GP W L T PF PA Pts
British Columbia Lions 16 11 5 0 477 326 22
Winnipeg Blue Bombers 16 9 7 0 412 402 18
Edmonton Eskimos 16 8 8 0 450 377 16
Calgary Stampeders 16 8 8 0 425 378 16
Saskatchewan Roughriders 16 5 11 0 360 536 10

East Division Team GP W L T PF PA Pts
Toronto Argonauts 16 12 4 0 452 328 24
Ottawa Rough Riders 16 8 8 0 384 424 16
Hamilton Tiger-Cats 16 5 10 1 389 498 11
Montreal Concordes 16 5 10 1 367 447 11

Semi-Finals - Winnipeg 49 - Edmonton 22
Semi-Finals - Hamilton 33 - Ottawa 31

Finals - B.C. 39 - Winnipeg 21
Finals - Toronto 41 - Hamilton 36

Grey Cup - Toronto 18 - B.C. 17

Speaking of former Lions winning the Grey Cup and utility man Bret Anderson retiring, I'm reminded of Jan Carinci. During his time from 1986-1990, he was used on both offence and defence, and was the third string quarterback. Were you proud he won a GC in his career, but unfortunately at the expense of the Lions?

http://www.argonauts.ca/image.php/Carin ... 983GC_.jpg

You all know who the scapegoat was, but what about the Lions secondary when:

http://www.argonauts.ca/index.php/artic ... 3-grey-cup

With the fourth quarter coming to a close, and the Argos down by 6, Barnes hit WR Paul Pearson over the middle to keep the final drive alive. Barnes capped off the drive with a strike to RB Cedric Minter who burst in to the endzone to complete one of the most memorable plays in Toronto sports history.

The GC individual award trophies look different they are now - they were much bigger. And I assume Rick Klassen got a trophy as well:

http://www.argonauts.ca/index.php/photo ... allery/769

After trailing 21-11 in the 3rd quarter, the Lions scored unanswered four touchdowns and 28 points to take the 1983 WDF.

There was more to the 1983 GC loss other than the Chapdelaine miss.

Two turnovers and bad defence also caused the loss.

An afterthough of course, but the second to last all-star game was played in BC Place a week after the GC and only around 10,000 showed up. According to the promoters:

The game itself - the first of five all-star games scheduled for B.C. Place Stadium over five years to be promoted by the Hamilton-based Professional Sport Management Group for the CFL Players' Association - was a financial flop and an artistic failure. The estimated 10,000 that did attend were almost lost in the cavernous 60,000-seat stadium a figure the promoters estimated as a break-even point.

These may not be pleasant pictures, but the city of Toronto has earned my respect. Had the Lions won the 1983 GC instead, would there be such a large parade and celebrations? I wouldn't say so as when Vancouver finally won the GC two years later, there was only a relatively small celebration - nothing like that in Toronto.

Saskatchewan 28 at BC 44

Joe Paopao at QB for the Lions

BC 43 at Edmonton 13


Edmonton 30 at BC 31


WDF - Winnipeg 21 at BC 39

1983 Grey Cup first half highlights.

Recent article about 1983 memories:
http://www.cfl.ca/article/landry-1983-a ... etime-team

And the 1983 Grey Cup game in its entirety.

1983 Grey Cup highlights from another vantage point. Specifically another view of Fernandez's TD catch.
http://video.tsn.ca/?dl=cfl-greycup100/ ... 0/clip/405

The entire 1983 Grey Cup

The second to last CFL All-Star Game West vs East at BC Place a week after the 1983 Grey Cup.

East 15 at West 25


Remember to watch the entire 2 hour and 15 minute video (or fast forward ) to include the last two minutes - there is a trophy presentation.

And if there's any consolation to Roy Dewalt after losing the 1983 Grey Cup, he was selected as the All-Star Offensive Player MVP by passing over 400+ yards, but he's definitely not smiling when he's presented on-stage. And despite my seemingly interest in trophies, I will have to admit that the all-star game trophy looks rather ugly. And at the very last scene it appears that Roy Dewalt is holding his MVP trophy on his right hand - it's so small in that it's only about 3 inches tall and his hand can completely cover it. I wonder if he squashed it right away.

Ottawa 13 at BC 40

Regular season finale in its entirety.

Saskatchewan 28 at BC 44


BC 34 at Hamilton 20


Calgary 16 at BC 32


Edmonton 30 at BC 31


BC 5 at Saskatchewan 11


Ottawa 13 at BC 40