1961 Football League Cup final
# 1961 Football League Cup final

The 1961 Football League Cup Final was the inaugural League Cup final. It was contested by Rotherham United and Aston Villa over two legs. Aston Villa won 3–2 on aggregate.

Due to fixture congestion, the second leg was not played until after the start of the 1961–62 season. As a result, Villa began their defence of the trophy just eight days after winning it. Though all League clubs were eligible to participate, Arsenal, Sheffield Wednesday, Tottenham Hotspur, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers did not enter. The prize money for winning the competition was £750. The two clubs would not play each other again until they met in the same competition in August 2013. Both clubs received first round byes.

## Players and officials

### First leg

| Rotherham United | Aston Villa |
| - | - |

Roy Ironside :

| 2 | Peter Perry |
| - | - |
| 3 | Lol Morgan |
| 4 | Roy Lambert (c) |
| 5 | Peter Madden |
| 6 | Ken Waterhouse |
| 7 | Barry Webster |
| 8 | Don Weston |
| 9 | Ken Houghton |
| 10 | Alan Kirkman |
| 11 | Keith Bambridge |
| Manager: ||||
| Tom Johnston ||||

Nigel Sims :

| 2 | Stan Lynn |
| - | - |
| 3 | Gordon Lee |
| 4 | Vic Crowe (c) |
| 5 | Jimmy Dugdale |
| 6 | Alan Deakin |
| 7 | Jimmy MacEwan |
| 8 | Bobby Thomson |
| 9 | Ralph Brown |
| 10 | Ron Wylie |
| 11 | Peter McParland |
| Manager: ||||
| Joe Mercer ||||

### Second leg

| Aston Villa | Rotherham United |
| - | - |

Geoff Sidebottom :

| 2 | John Neal |
| - | - |
| 3 | Gordon Lee |
| 4 | Vic Crowe (c) |
| 5 | Jimmy Dugdale |
| 6 | Alan Deakin |
| 7 | Jimmy MacEwan |
| 8 | Alan O'Neill |
| 9 | Peter McParland |
| 10 | Bobby Thomson |
| 11 | Harry Burrows |
| Manager: ||||
| Joe Mercer ||||

Roy Ironside :

| 2 | Peter Perry |
| - | - |
| 3 | Lol Morgan |
| 4 | Roy Lambert (c) |
| 5 | Peter Madden |
| 6 | Ken Waterhouse |
| 7 | Barry Webster |
| 8 | Don Weston |
| 9 | Ken Houghton |
| 10 | Alan Kirkman |
| 11 | Keith Bambridge |
| Manager: ||||
| Tom Johnston ||||

## Road to the final

### Aston Villa

| Round 1Bye Round 2Aston Villa4–0Huddersfield Town Round 3Preston North End3–3Aston Villa Round 3 replayAston Villa3–1Preston North End Round 4Aston Villa3–3Plymouth Argyle Round 4 replayPlymouth Argyle0–0Aston Villa Round 4 2nd replayPlymouth Argyle3–5Aston Villa Quarter-finalAston Villa3–0Wrexham Semi-final (1st leg)Burnley2–2Aston Villa Semi-final (2nd leg)Aston Villa1–1Burnley Semi-final replayAston Villa2–1Burnley  (at Old Trafford) | Rotherham United Round 1Bye Round 2Leicester City1–2Rotherham United Round 3Rotherham United2–0Bristol Rovers Round 4Bolton Wanderers0–2Rotherham United Quarter-finalRotherham United3–0Portsmouth Semi-final (1st leg)Rotherham United3–2Shrewsbury Town Semi-final (2nd leg)Shrewsbury Town1–1Rotherham United  (Rotherham United win 4–3 on aggregate) |
| - | - |
