Steve Daniel
On August 17, 2014 the BC Lions recorded their 500th regular season victory. Beyond the round number, the win is significant for a number of reasons not only in relation to the club’s history, but also as a standard of measurement for the steady and progressive success the Lions have enjoyed over the last decade.
By comparison, the Ottawa Redbacks had it good in 2013. They were permitted to select 24 players in advance of their first season in
the CFL and stock their rosters with primarily Canadian talent, including three from the BC Lions. Add to that selections in the 2013 and 2014 Canadian Drafts, including 2014 #1 overall pick starter Antoine Pruneau, and you have a pretty good head start.
Back in 1953 when the Lions were formed, there was no such help. General Manager Annis Stukus was forced to scramble for players since there was no real Canadian Draft then. The Lions raided NFL rosters, found a few experienced but older veterans here and there, and pushed the young 1953 Vancouver Cubs players quickly into the Canadian Football limelight to compete with powerful Winnipeg and Edmonton. Back then, the Lions even had to cover visiting teams travel costs to the West Coast.
The Lions were in tough right from the start on August 28, 1954 when they opened against the 1953 Western champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers. A tight 8-6 loss that day started a 1-15 inaugural season in which the Lions’ only victory came over Calgary in Game #7 snapping a franchise 0-6 start.
It took several years to build a competitive roster and the organization around it to make that happen. To start 1959 (when the Lions posted their first-ever winning record and playoff berth at 9-7), the club’s cumulative W-L mark had reached 19-60-1 before the first period of club glory began. This initial era culminated in 1964 with the Grey Cup win over Hamilton They had climbed back to just 40 games below .500, full of promise.
A challenging stretch followed that 1964 Grey Cup win with the retirements and departure of some key players – many of whose uniform numbers hang on the wall at B.C. Place Stadium – Willie Fleming, Joe Kapp, By Bailey, and Norm Fieldgate. A run of 12 consecutive years ensued without a single .500+ record, and by the end of 1976 the club’s all-time mark was 128-224-16, 96 games below .500.
But that all changed starting in 1977 with the attitude toward excellence instilled by club leadership headed by Mr. Bob Ackles. Fromthat point on it has been year after year of success in the very-much tougher CFL West Division. In the 38 seasons from 1977 to 2014, the BC Lions have produced a .500 or better record 29 times and an overall W-L record of 372-276-8 for .573 winning percentage.
So back to the significance of Week 8’s road win over Toronto, that 33-17 finally evened the club’s all-time record at 500-500-24 – precisely 21,905 days later.
This weekend against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, the Lions have a chance at last to pull ahead in the Wins column. On the 
scoreboard, they have been on the plus side since 2007 and now have a 24,165 to 23,705 all-time points edge. But wins matter more than points and the club has an opportunity to join Edmonton, Winnipeg, Calgary and Montreal in the above-.500 category all-time and to go beyond that level.
The results are there: BC has made the playoffs in each of the last 17 seasons, the second-longest streak behind Montreal, 30 out of 37 times in this run of excellence that began in 1977. They have six Grey Cup wins now and a seventh is the goal starting with the Riders this Sunday.