Hawthorn, which was competing in its first VFL grand final since entering the competition in 1925, came into the game as minor premiers, favourites, and on a then-club record 11-game winning streak.[1] Footscray, who also entered the competition in 1925 and was in its second grand final (the first coming when it won the 1954 premiership), had finished the home and away season in fourth place, and qualified after upsetting the Ron Barassi-led Melbourne by 27 points in the preliminary final. It ended Melbourne's record sequence of seven consecutive grand final appearances, and was the first grand final not to feature any of the VFL's eight foundation clubs.
It was a young Footscray side, with only two players coming into the game with more than 80 VFL games experience them, although one of them was veteran Ted Whitten. Hawthorn's Brendan Edwards was playing in his 100th VFL game and dominated in the centre. Despite trailing at half time, Hawthorn won comfortably in the end after kicking six goals to one in a dominant third quarter.
The 1961 grand final is the earliest VFL grand final whose complete television footage has survived and been made available on DVD.
Ross, J. (ed), 100 Years of Australian Football 1897–1996: The Complete Story of the AFL, All the Big Stories, All the Great Pictures, All the Champions, Every AFL Season Reported, Viking, (Ringwood), 1996. ISBN0-670-86814-0
