| 1961 VFL premiership season | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 12 |
| Premiers | Hawthorn 1st premiership |
| Minor premiers | Hawthorn 1st minor premiership |
| Consolation series | Geelong 1st Consolation series win |
| Brownlow Medallist | John James (Carlton) |
| Coleman Medallist | Tom Carroll (Carlton) |
| Matches played | 112 |
| Highest | 107,935 |
The 1961 VFL season was the 65th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 15 April until 23 September, and comprised an 18-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top four clubs.
The premiership was won by the Hawthorn Football Club for the first time, after it defeated Footscray by 43 points in the 1961 VFL Grand Final.