The 1970 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 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 and linebacker Greg Findlay were all league all-stars. Young won the CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award.

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 RoundPickPlayerPositionSchool

Preseason Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance Score Record A Mon, July 6 vs. Edmonton Eskimos L 19–37 0–1 Empire Stadium 24,702 B Fri, July 10 at Saskatchewan Roughriders L 21–27 0–2 Taylor Field C Thu, July 16 vs. Toronto Argonauts L 25–42 0–3 Empire Stadium D Tue, July 21 at Winnipeg Blue Bombers L 22–25 0–4 Winnipeg Stadium 13,100

Regular season Season standings + Western Football Conference Team GP W L T PF PA PtsSaskatchewan Roughriders 16 14 2 0 369 206 28 Edmonton Eskimos 16 9 7 0 282 287 18 Calgary Stampeders 16 9 7 0 293 209 18 BC Lions 16 6 10 0 295 384 12 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 16 2 14 0 184 332 4

Season schedule Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance Score Record 1 Tue, July 28 vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders L 9–42 0–1 Empire Stadium 29,152 2 Tue, Aug 4 at Winnipeg Blue Bombers W 48–21 1–1 Winnipeg Stadium 17,340 3 Mon, Aug 10 at Calgary Stampeders L 9–16 1–2 McMahon Stadium 20,402 4 Thu, Aug 13 at Edmonton Eskimos W 35–7 2–2 Clarke Stadium 18,992 5 Thu, Aug 20 vs. Calgary Stampeders W 27–13 3–2 Empire Stadium 35,627 6 Thu, Aug 27 vs. Ottawa Rough Riders W 32–30 4–2 Empire Stadium 35,563 7 Tue, Sept 1 at Edmonton Eskimos L 9–20 4–3 Clarke Stadium 18,140 8 Sun, Sept 13 vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers W 16–13 5–3 Empire Stadium 36,250 9 Fri, Sept 18 at Saskatchewan Roughriders L 22–23 5–4 Taylor Field 17,535 10 Wed, Sept 23 vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats L 14–26 5–5 Empire Stadium 29,787 11 Sat, Oct 3 vs. Edmonton Eskimos L 20–32 5–6 Empire Stadium 35,107 12 Sat, Oct 10 at Toronto Argonauts 7–50 5–7 Exhibition Stadium 33,135 13 Wed, Oct 14 at Montreal Alouettes L 27–28 5–8 Autostade 18,077 14 Wed, Oct 21 vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers W 7–1 6–8 Empire Stadium 22,510 15 Sun, Oct 25 at Calgary Stampeders L 0–29 6–9 McMahon Stadium 20,916 16 Sun, Nov 1 vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders L 13–33 6–10 Empire Stadium 23,739

Offensive leaders Player Passing ydsRushing ydsReceiving ydsTD Paul Brothers 2604 22703 Jim Evenson 100312511 A.D. Whitfield 7544953 Jim Young 17110417 Vic Washington 104752 Lefty Hendrickson 04311

Awards and records CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award – Jim Young (WR)

1970 CFL All-Stars RB – Jim Evenson, CFL All-Star OG – Ken Sugerman, CFL All-Star LB – Greg Findlay, CFL All-Star

References