1961 VFL season
Encyclopedia
Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League
season of 1961.
Teams played each other in a home-and-away season of 18 rounds; matches 12 to 18 were the "home-and-way reverse" of matches 1 to 7.
Once the 18 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1961 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the "Page-McIntyre system".
, for the teams (5th to 12th on ladder) out of the finals at the end of the season.
Final: Geelong
9.20 (74) defeated North Melbourne
9.8 (62)
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
season of 1961.
Premiership season
In 1961, the VFL competition consisted of twelve teams of 18 on-the-field players each, plus two substitute players, known as the 19th man and the 20th man. A player could be substituted for any reason; however, once substituted, a player could not return to the field of play under any circumstances.Teams played each other in a home-and-away season of 18 rounds; matches 12 to 18 were the "home-and-way reverse" of matches 1 to 7.
Once the 18 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1961 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the "Page-McIntyre system".
Consolation Night Series Competition
The night series were held under the floodlights at Lake Oval, South MelbourneSouth Melbourne, Victoria
South Melbourne is an inner city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km south from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area are the Cities of Port Phillip and Melbourne...
, for the teams (5th to 12th on ladder) out of the finals at the end of the season.
Final: Geelong
Geelong Football Club
The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also...
9.20 (74) defeated North Melbourne
North Melbourne Football Club
The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...
9.8 (62)
First Semi-Final
| Team | 1 Qtr | 2 Qtr | 3 Qtr | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Kilda | 1.4 | 3.7 | 6.9 | 8.12 (60) |
| Footscray | 3.3 | 7.7 | 9.11 | 9.15 (69) |
| Attendance: 86,411 | ||||
Second Semi-Final
| Team | 1 Qtr | 2 Qtr | 3 Qtr | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawthorn Hawthorn Football Club The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League . The club, founded in 1902, is the youngest of the Victorian-based teams in the AFL. The team play in Brown & Gold vertically striped guernseys... |
2.1 | 6.4 | 9.8 | 12.8 (80) |
| Melbourne Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria.... |
5.2 | 7.4 | 9.5 | 11.7 (73) |
| Attendance: 87,744 | ||||
Preliminary Final
| Team | 1 Qtr | 2 Qtr | 3 Qtr | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melbourne Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria.... |
0.2 | 2.5 | 4.6 | 8.10 (58) |
| Footscray | 4.3 | 5.4 | 11.6 | 13.7 (85) |
| Attendance: 86,116 | ||||
Grand final
| Team | 1 Qtr | 2 Qtr | 3 Qtr | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawthorn Hawthorn Football Club The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League . The club, founded in 1902, is the youngest of the Victorian-based teams in the AFL. The team play in Brown & Gold vertically striped guernseys... |
2.4 | 3.9 | 9.15 | 13.16 (94) |
| Footscray | 4.2 | 5.5 | 6.6 | 7.9 (51) |
| Attendance: 107,935 | ||||
Awards
- The 1961 VFL Premiership team was HawthornHawthorn Football ClubThe Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League . The club, founded in 1902, is the youngest of the Victorian-based teams in the AFL. The team play in Brown & Gold vertically striped guernseys...
. - The VFL's leading goalkickerColeman MedalThe Coleman Medal is awarded yearly to the Australian Football League player who kicks the most goals in regular-season matches in that year...
was Tom Carroll of CarltonCarlton Football ClubThe Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
who kicked 54 goals. - The winner of the 1961 Brownlow MedalBrownlow MedalThe Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
was John James of CarltonCarlton Football ClubThe Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
with 21 votes. - North MelbourneNorth Melbourne Football ClubThe North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...
took the "wooden spoonWooden spoon (award)A wooden spoon is a mock or real award, usually given to an individual or team which has come last in a competition, but sometimes also to runners-up. Examples range from the academic to sporting and more frivolous events...
" in 1961.
Notable events
- Following a VFL investigation of a complaint that game officials had not reported the incident, rugged South MelbourneSydney SwansThe Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
ruckman Ken BoydKen Boyd (footballer)Kenneth John "Ken" Boyd is a former Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League ....
was suspended for 12 matches, for striking CarltonCarlton Football ClubThe Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
ruckman John Nicholls. - In round 16, RichmondRichmond Football ClubThe Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,...
were held goalless by St Kilda; the first time a team had not scored a major since St Kilda was defeated by FitzroyFitzroy Football ClubThe Fitzroy Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Lions, is an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League on its inception in 1897...
in round 11 of 1921. - HawthornHawthorn Football ClubThe Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League . The club, founded in 1902, is the youngest of the Victorian-based teams in the AFL. The team play in Brown & Gold vertically striped guernseys...
defeated Footscray in their first Grand FinalAFL Grand FinalThe AFL Grand Final is an annual Australian rules football match, traditionally held on the final Saturday in September at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia to determine the Australian Football League premiership champions for that year...
at Melbourne Cricket GroundMelbourne Cricket GroundThe Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
. Brendan EdwardsBrendan EdwardsBrendan Edwards Brendan Edwards Brendan Edwards (Born 18 March 1936 is a former Australian rules football footballer who played for Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League VFL from 1956 to 1961 and again in the 1963 season. He won their best and fairest award in 1960 and represented Victoria at...
was, by far, the best player in the match. - Having decided to abandon its (1957–1960) experiment of allowing live telecasts of the last quarter of three VFL matches each Saturday afternoon on ABV-2ABV (TV station)ABV is the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television station in Melbourne, Victoria. The station began broadcasting on 19 November 1956 and is transmitted throughout the state via a network of relay transmitters and also ABV is the second television station in Victoria with HSV-7 which...
, HSV-7, and GTV-9, the VFL rejected offers from the three television stations to broadcast replays on Saturday evenings. A separate arrangement was made to allow a replay of the entire Grand Final match. - In November, CollingwoodCollingwood Football ClubThe Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
announced that it has delisted sixteen players from its 1961 playing list, including Ian BrewerIan BrewerIan Brewer was an Australian rules footballer with a distinguished career between 1956 and 1970, in the three major leagues of his era: the Victorian Football League , West Australian National Football League and South Australian National Football League...
and Barry "Hooker" HarrisonBarry HarrisonBarry 'Hooker' Harrison was an Australian rules footballer who played for Collingwood and North Melbourne in the VFL.Harrison, a ruckman, was known for his aggressive style of play. He spent the 1954 and 1955 seasons with the reserves and then joined the Navy as part of his National service which...
.