1961 CFL season

The 1961 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 8th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 4th Canadian Football League season.

CFL News in 1961

The Western Canada Intercollegiate Rugby Union merged with the Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union.

The WIFU changed its name to become the Western Football Conference.

The CFL season schedule was partially interlocked to allow teams of the Eastern Football Conference to play the teams of the Western Football Conference.

The 49th edition of the Grey Cup was played in overtime for the first time at Toronto's CNE Stadium. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers won that game by defeating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats by a score of 21-14, to win the championship.

The CFL made some rule changes for the upcoming 1962 season by permitting four defensive backs from each team to have unlimited blocking in rushing plays, as long as they are lined up outside the ends. However, the CFL made the tackle-eligible play to become illegal.

Regular Season Standings

Final regular season standings

"Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, Pts = Points"

*Bold text means that they have clinched the playoffs.
* "Winnipeg and Hamilton have first round byes."