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.^[1] The two clubs would not play each other again until they met in the same competition in August 2013.^[2] Both clubs received first round byes.^[3]

Players and officials

First leg

22 August 1961

Rotherham United	2–0	Aston Villa
Webster 51' Kirkman 55'

Millmoor, Rotherham

Attendance: 12,226

Referee: K.A. Collinge

Rotherham United

Aston Villa

1 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

1 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

5 September 1961

Aston Villa	3 – 0 (a.e.t.)	Rotherham United
O'Neill 67' Burrows 69' McParland 109'

Villa Park, Birmingham

Attendance: 31,202

Referee: C.W. Kingston

Aston Villa

Rotherham United

1 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

1 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