The 1960–61 FA Cup was the 80th season of the world's oldest footballcup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup. Tottenham Hotspur won the competition for the third time, beating Leicester City 2–0 in the final at Wembley. In doing so, they became the first team to win the Double since Aston Villa in 1897. Matches were scheduled to be played at the stadium of the team named first on the date specified for each round, which was always a Saturday. Some matches, however, might be rescheduled for other days if there were clashes with games for other competitions or the weather was inclement. If scores were level after 90 minutes had been played, a replay would take place at the stadium of the second-named team later the same week. If the replayed match was drawn further replays would be held until a winner was determined. If scores were level after 90 minutes had been played in a replay, a 30-minute period of extra time would be played.
At this stage clubs from the Football League Third and Fourth Divisions joined those non-league clubs having come through the qualifying rounds. Matches were scheduled to be played on Saturday, 5 November 1960. Eleven were drawn and went to replays.
The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 26 November 1960, with three matches taking place later. Seven matches were drawn, with replays taking place later the same week. However, the Darlington–Hull City match went to another three replays after this before the match finished in Hull City's favour.
The 44 First and Second Division clubs entered the competition at this stage. The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 7 January 1961. Nine matches were drawn and went to replays, with two of these requiring a second replay.
The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 28 January 1961, with three games postponed until 1 February. Six matches were drawn and went to replays, which were all played in the following midweek match, and one of these was then replayed a second time. Tottenham Hotspur and Crewe Alexandra were drawn together for the second consecutive season in the fourth round, with Tottenham having beaten Crewe 13–2 in a replay the one year earlier.
Tie no
Home team
Score
Away team
Date
1
Liverpool
0–2
Sunderland
28 January 1961
2
Southampton
0–1
Leyton Orient
28 January 1961
3
Leicester City
5–1
Bristol City
31 January 1961
4
Sheffield Wednesday
1–1
Manchester United
28 January 1961
Replay
Manchester United
2–7
Sheffield Wednesday
1 February 1961
5
Bolton Wanderers
3–3
Blackburn Rovers
28 January 1961
Replay
Blackburn Rovers
4–0
Bolton Wanderers
1 February 1961
6
Luton Town
3–1
Manchester City
1 February 1961
7
Sheffield United
3–1
Lincoln City
28 January 1961
8
Newcastle United
4–0
Stockport County
1 February 1961
9
Tottenham Hotspur
5–1
Crewe Alexandra
28 January 1961
10
Brighton & Hove Albion
3–3
Burnley
28 January 1961
Replay
Burnley
2–0
Brighton & Hove Albion
31 January 1961
11
Scunthorpe United
1–4
Norwich City
28 January 1961
12
Huddersfield Town
1–1
Barnsley
1 February 1961
Replay
Barnsley
1–0
Huddersfield Town
6 February 1961
13
Swansea Town
2–1
Preston North End
28 January 1961
14
Stoke City
0–0
Aldershot
28 January 1961
Replay
Aldershot
0–0
Stoke City
1 February 1961
Replay
Stoke City
3–0
Aldershot
6 February 1961
15
Peterborough United
1–1
Aston Villa
28 January 1961
Replay
Aston Villa
2–1
Peterborough United
1 February 1961
16
Birmingham City
4–0
Rotherham United
28 January 1961
Fifth Round Proper
The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 18 February 1961. One match went to a replay in the following mid-week fixture.
Tie no
Home team
Score
Away team
Date
1
Burnley
4–0
Swansea Town
18 February 1961
2
Aston Villa
0–2
Tottenham Hotspur
18 February 1961
3
Sheffield United
2–1
Blackburn Rovers
18 February 1961
4
Newcastle United
3–1
Stoke City
18 February 1961
5
Barnsley
1–0
Luton Town
18 February 1961
6
Norwich City
0–1
Sunderland
18 February 1961
7
Birmingham City
1–1
Leicester City
18 February 1961
Replay
Leicester City
2–1
Birmingham City
22 February 1961
8
Leyton Orient
0–2
Sheffield Wednesday
18 February 1961
Sixth Round Proper
The four Sixth Round ties were scheduled to be played on Saturday, 4 March 1961. Three of the four matches went to replays in the midweek fixtures before being settled.
The semi-final matches were played on Saturday, 18 March 1961 with the Leicester City–Sheffield United game requiring two replays. This series of games marked the first time since 1928 that a semi-final had required a second replay, and the first time ever in the FA Cup that a semi-final had failed to produce a goal after a replay. United had the ball in the net through Derek Pace in the first game and although the player insisted that it hit his shoulder, the referee disallowed for handball. Leicester eventually won the tie and so went on to meet Tottenham in the final at Wembley. ;Replay ;Second Replay ----
Final
The 1961 FA Cup Final took place on 6 May 1961 at Wembley Stadium and was won by Tottenham Hotspur who defeated Leicester City, by a 2–0 scoreline. In doing so, Tottenham became the first team to complete the League and FA Cup Double since Aston Villa in 1897.