1960–61 in English football

81st season of competitive football in England

The 1960–61 season was the 81st season of competitive football in England. Tottenham Hotspur became the first club in the twentieth century to "do the Double" by winning both the League and the FA Cup competitions in the same season. Spurs sealed the First Division title with a 2–1 home win over Sheffield Wednesday on 17 April 1961. Preston North End, who had been the first team to achieve the League and FA Cup "double", was relegated in last place – and to date have not returned to the top flight of English football. 1960–61 still remains the last time Tottenham Hotspur won the League Championship. This season also saw the first contesting of the Football League Cup. Portsmouth became the first former English League champion to be relegated to the Third Division, ten years after winning their second title. Peterborough United set a Football League record by scoring the most league goals (134) in a season.

Tottenham Hotspur beat Leicester City 2–0 to win the 1961 FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium to become the first team in the 20th Century to win the double.

The 1960–61 was the inaugural staging of the Football League Cup, The tournament was won by Aston Villa, who beat Rotherham United 3–2 on aggregate after extra time. Although Aston Villa are credited as the League Cup Winners in 1960–61, both legs of the Final were held over until after the commencement of the 1961–62 season due to fixture congestion. Villa finally lifted the trophy on 5 September 1961.

In June 1961, Denis Law left Manchester City for Italian side Torino in a £100,000 deal – a record fee involving a British player.

Tottenham Hotspur became the first team in the 20th century to win the double, finishing eight points ahead of runners up Sheffield Wednesday. Wolves, Everton and defending champions Burnley completed the top five, while FA Cup runners up Leicester City were in sixth place and Manchester United finished seventh for the second season running. Preston North End, in their first season without retired winger Tom Finney, went down in bottom place, joined in relegation by Newcastle United.

Alf Ramsey's Ipswich side reached the First Division for the first time in their history by winning the Second Division title. The club had been in non league football 25 years earlier. They were joined in promotion by Sheffield United. Liverpool just missed out on First Division football once again, while Norwich City achieved their best final position yet by finishing fourth. Lincoln City went down in bottom place and were joined in the Third Division by Portsmouth, league champions just over a decade earlier.

Bury won promotion to the Second Division as champions of the Third Division and were joined in the higher division by runners up Walsall. Chesterfield, Colchester United and Tranmere Rovers, who had all spent most or all of their history in nothing higher than the league's third tier, went down to the Fourth Division, but were relegated along with a Bradford City side who had played in the First Division for a number of seasons until 1922 and were FA Cup winners in 1911.

Peterborough United enjoyed a blistering debut in the Football League, finding the net 134 times (with 52 goals coming from centre forward Terry Bly) and clinching the Fourth Division title. They were joined in promotion by Crystal Palace, Northampton Town and Bradford Park Avenue.