The 1985 BC Lions season was the 28th season for the team in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and their 32nd overall. The Lions finished in first place in the West Division with a 13–3 record and won the Grey Cup by defeating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 37–24 in the 73rd Grey Cup game. The win captured the second championship in franchise history and also ended the longest Grey Cup drought for the Lions at 21 years.
Offseason CFL draft Round Pick Player Position School13John UlmerDefensive endNorth Dakota17Rick RyanDefensive backWeber State214Bruce BarnettDefensive backBritish Columbia216Joe PariselliRunning backYork322Bob JedickeDefensive lineWestern Ontario326Chris SpenceRunning backSimon Fraser434Kurt WilchuckLinebackerOregon543John Moffatt Wide receiverWestern Ontario652Chester KralaLinebackerCalgary870John MelvinDefensive line British Columbia979Bob RosTight endBritish Columbia
Preseason Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance Score Record A Sun, June 9 vs. Calgary Stampeders W 19–9 1–0 BC Place 29,238 B Mon, June 17 at Edmonton Eskimos W 17–16 2–0 Commonwealth Stadium C Fri, June 21 vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers L 18–28 2–1 BC Place 26,921 D Fri, June 28 at Saskatchewan Roughriders W 21–3 3–1 Taylor Field 19,651
Regular season Season standings
Season schedule Week Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance Score Record 1 1 Sat, July 6 at Hamilton Tiger-Cats W 42–8 1–0 Ivor Wynne Stadium 13,101 2 2 Sat, July 13 vs. Edmonton Eskimos W 25–10 2–0 BC Place 38,055 3 3 Sun, July 21 at Calgary Stampeders W 39–14 3–0 McMahon Stadium 15,769 4 4 Sat, July 27 vs. Montreal Concordes W 28–15 4–0 BC Place 48,281 5 5 Thurs, Aug 1 at Toronto Argonauts W 43–18 5–0 Exhibition Stadium 31,276 6 Bye 7 6 Sat, Aug 17 vs. Calgary Stampeders L 32–35 5–1 BC Place Stadium 37,462 8 7 Sat, Aug 24 vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats W 21–11 6–1 BC Place 34,351 9 8 Fri, Aug 30 at Ottawa Rough Riders W 18–13 7–1 Lansdowne Park 23,611 10 9 Fri, Sept 6 vs. Toronto Argonauts W 32–23 8–1 BC Place 40,782 11 Bye 12 10 Fri, Sept 20 at Montreal Concordes W 31–20 9–1 Olympic Stadium 24,363 13 11 Sat, Sept 28 vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders W 33–9 10–1 BC Place 41,618 14 12 Sun, Oct 6 at Winnipeg Blue Bombers L 26–33 10–2 Winnipeg Stadium 32,946 15 13 Fri, Oct 11 vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers L 10–31 10–3 BC Place 59,478 16 14 Sun, Oct 20 at Saskatchewan Roughriders W 42–18 11–3 Taylor Field 19,940 17 15 Sun, Oct 27 at Edmonton Eskimos W 42–29 12–3 Commonwealth Stadium 48,193 18 16 Fri, Nov 1 vs. Ottawa Rough Riders W 17–10 13–3 BC Place 38,661
Awards and records CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award – Mervyn Fernandez (WR) CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award – Mike Gray (DT) CFLPA's Most Outstanding Community Service Award – Tyrone Crews (LB) CFL's Coach of the Year – Don Matthews Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy – Mervyn Fernandez (WR)
1985 CFL All-Stars RB – Keyvan Jenkins, CFL All-Star WR – Mervyn Fernandez, CFL All-Star OT – John Blain, CFL All-Star DT – Mike Gray, CFL All-Star DE – James "Quick" Parker, CFL All-Star LB – Kevin Konar, CFL All-Star DB – Darnell Clash, CFL All-Star
Playoffs Round Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance Score Record West Semi-Final Bye West Final Sun, Nov 17 vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers W 42–22 1–0 BC Place 59,478 Grey Cup Sun, Nov 24 vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats W 37–24 2–0 Olympic Stadium 56,723
West Final Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 TotalWinnipeg Blue Bombers 88 0 6 22BC Lions 710 22 3 42
Grey Cup
Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 TotalBC Lions 10 13 6 8 37Hamilton Tiger-Cats 0 14 0 10 24
First quarter
BC – TD Armour 84 yard pass from Dewalt (Passaglia convert) BC – FG Passaglia
Second quarter
BC – FG Passaglia HAM – TD Ingram 35 yard pass from Hobart (Ruoff convert) HAM – TD Shepherd 00 yard pass from Hobart (Ruoff convert) BC – TD Armour 59 yard pass from Dewalt (Passaglia convert) BC – FG Passaglia
Third quarter BC – FG Passaglia BC – FG Passaglia
Fourth quarter
HAM – FG Ruoff BC – Single Passaglia BC – TD Sandusky 66 yard pass from Dewalt (Passaglia convert) HAM – TD Stapler 35 yard pass from Hobart (Ruoff convert) Roster 1985 BC Lions final roster Quarterbacks
Running backs
Receivers
Offensive linemen T/G T/C T T G G G/C C
Defensive linemen DT DE DT DT DE DE Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams K/P
Injured list WR
Italics indicate International player
References