| League Topscorer: | Coutinho (Santos) Pepe (Santos) – 9 goals each |
| Biggest Home Win: | Fluminense 7–0 Portuguesa (9 Apr) |
| Matches: | 54 |
| Total Goals: | 191 |
| Nextseason: | 1962 |
The 1961 Torneio Rio São Paulo was the 14th edition of the Torneio Rio-São Paulo. It was disputed between 1 March to 24 April.
| Team | City | Nº participations | Best result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| America | Rio de Janeiro | 11 | 6th (1951) | |
| Botafogo | Rio de Janeiro | 11 | Runners-up: 1960 | |
| Corinthians | São Paulo | 14 | Champions: 1950, 1953, 1954 | |
| Flamengo | Rio de Janeiro | 13 | Runners-up: 1957, 1958 | |
| Fluminense | Rio de Janeiro | 13 | Champions: 1957, 1960 | |
| Palmeiras | São Paulo | 14 | Champions: 1933, 1951 | |
| Portuguesa | São Paulo | 14 | Champions: 1952, 1955 | |
| Santos | Santos | 11 | Champions: 1959 | |
| São Paulo | São Paulo | 14 | Runners-up: 1933 | |
| Vasco da Gama | Rio de Janeiro | 14 | Champions: 1958 |
The tournament were disputed in a two stages. In the first, clubs were split in two groups: Group A, with the teams of São Paulo, and Group B, with the teams of Rio de Janeiro. Clubs from group A played against clubs from group A and group B. The three clubs with the best performance in each group were qualified to the final round. In the final round, the clubs only plays against teams from the other state.
Following is the summary of the 1961 Torneio Rio-São Paulo tournament:[1] [2]