1996
Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 9:18 pm
1996
It was a season of change and instability for the Lions. Former quarterback and fan favourite Joe Paopao returned to the Lions from the Edmonton Eskimos as the new Head Coach, replacing Dave Ritchie. The biggest change came on March 11th. That was the day owner Bill Comrie announced that the club had been sold to a group of 10 local businessmen headed by Nelson Skalbania and Michael Jensen. The Lions held training camp at UBC with over a hundred players invited. Mike McCarthy arrived in Vancouver to become the new Lions' President. On the field, the BC Lions started the season with 18 new faces in the line-up. Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware was the new starting quarterback. The club went 0-4 to start the season. Damon Allen was signed to become the new QB. Once more the club lost, this time at home against Hamilton, but won in Hamilton the following week. Generally, it was a season of turmoil. August 31 marked the end of Nelson Skalbania and his group as owners of BC Lions. The team went into receivership. The bright spot of the season was an incredible against-all-odds 35-11 victory over Doug Flutie and the Toronto Argonauts, in September. On October 31st, Hamilton Businessman David Braley announced his intention to buy the football team. November 2nd marked the end of the season as the Lions defeated Ottawa 35-24 in what was the Rough Riders' final game in club history. December came and the Lions announced Glen Ringdal as the new team President. A season ticket campaign was started with the need to increase awareness and revenue for the franchise.
West Division Team GP W L T PF PA Pts
Calgary Stampeders 18 13 5 0 608 375 26
Edmonton Eskimos 18 11 7 0 459 354 22
Winnipeg Blue Bombers 18 9 9 0 421 495 18
Saskatchewan Roughriders 18 5 13 0 360 498 10
British Columbia Lions 18 5 13 0 410 483 10
East Division Team GP W L T PF PA Pts
Toronto Argonauts 18 15 3 0 556 359 30
Montreal Alouettes 18 12 6 0 536 467 24
Hamilton Tiger-Cats 18 8 10 0 426 576 16
Ottawa Rough Riders 18 3 15 0 352 524 6
Semi-Finals - Edmonton 68 - Winnipeg 7
Semi-Finals - Montreal 22 - Hamilton 11
Finals - Edmonton 15 - Calgary 12
Finals - Toronto 43 - Montreal 7
Grey Cup - Toronto 43 - Edmonton 37
It was a season of change and instability for the Lions. Former quarterback and fan favourite Joe Paopao returned to the Lions from the Edmonton Eskimos as the new Head Coach, replacing Dave Ritchie. The biggest change came on March 11th. That was the day owner Bill Comrie announced that the club had been sold to a group of 10 local businessmen headed by Nelson Skalbania and Michael Jensen. The Lions held training camp at UBC with over a hundred players invited. Mike McCarthy arrived in Vancouver to become the new Lions' President. On the field, the BC Lions started the season with 18 new faces in the line-up. Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware was the new starting quarterback. The club went 0-4 to start the season. Damon Allen was signed to become the new QB. Once more the club lost, this time at home against Hamilton, but won in Hamilton the following week. Generally, it was a season of turmoil. August 31 marked the end of Nelson Skalbania and his group as owners of BC Lions. The team went into receivership. The bright spot of the season was an incredible against-all-odds 35-11 victory over Doug Flutie and the Toronto Argonauts, in September. On October 31st, Hamilton Businessman David Braley announced his intention to buy the football team. November 2nd marked the end of the season as the Lions defeated Ottawa 35-24 in what was the Rough Riders' final game in club history. December came and the Lions announced Glen Ringdal as the new team President. A season ticket campaign was started with the need to increase awareness and revenue for the franchise.
West Division Team GP W L T PF PA Pts
Calgary Stampeders 18 13 5 0 608 375 26
Edmonton Eskimos 18 11 7 0 459 354 22
Winnipeg Blue Bombers 18 9 9 0 421 495 18
Saskatchewan Roughriders 18 5 13 0 360 498 10
British Columbia Lions 18 5 13 0 410 483 10
East Division Team GP W L T PF PA Pts
Toronto Argonauts 18 15 3 0 556 359 30
Montreal Alouettes 18 12 6 0 536 467 24
Hamilton Tiger-Cats 18 8 10 0 426 576 16
Ottawa Rough Riders 18 3 15 0 352 524 6
Semi-Finals - Edmonton 68 - Winnipeg 7
Semi-Finals - Montreal 22 - Hamilton 11
Finals - Edmonton 15 - Calgary 12
Finals - Toronto 43 - Montreal 7
Grey Cup - Toronto 43 - Edmonton 37