The

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

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

Jerry Tagge Jerry Lee Tagge (born April 12, 1950) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL), World Football League (WFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football ...

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 Joe Paopao (born June 30, 1955) is a former professional Canadian football quarterback and coach in the Canadian Football League (CFL). Paopao played 11 seasons in the CFL and was a member of the BC Lions, Saskatchewan Roughriders, and the Ottawa ...

, 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 Larry Key (born July 12, 1956) is a former Canadian Football League (CFL) running back for the British Columbia Lions from 1978 through 1982. He was an All-Star in 1979 and 1981. Key was the first Florida State Seminoles player to rush for 1,00 ...

with 1060 rushing yards & 289 receiving yards and

John Henry White John Henry White (born August 28, 1955) is an American former professional football running back who played ten seasons in Canadian Football League (CFL) for the BC Lions. He was a part of the Lions 1985 Grey Cup winning team. White played co ...

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 Lui Passaglia (born June 7, 1954) is a Canadian former professional Canadian football, football player. He was the placekicker/Punter (football position), punter for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL) for a record-breaking 25 year ...

who was led the league punting and was 2nd in league scoring. After the season, "Dirty Thirty"

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 for ...

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

Roster

Preseason

Regular season

Season standings

Season schedule

Playoffs

West Semi-Final

Offensive leaders

Awards and records

1979 CFL All-Stars

References