During the 1960–61 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Third Division. An abundance of draws led to a 17th-place finish and it was the last of seven seasons to feature the "Terrible Twins" strike partnership of Jim Towers and George Francis.

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Brentford

1960–61 season
Chairman	Frank Davis
Manager	Malky MacDonald
Stadium	Griffin Park
Third Division	17th
FA Cup	First round
League Cup	Third round
Top goalscorer	League: Towers (21) All: Towers (22)
Highest home attendance	21,000
Lowest home attendance	3,500
Average home league attendance	7,392
Home colours
← 1959–60 1961–62 →

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Despite making something of a name for themselves as the "nearly men" of the Third Division, manager Malky MacDonald made few changes to the Brentford squad for the fourth-consecutive off-season.^[1] The one major change at Brentford was that of the club's traditional red and white-striped shirts, which were passed over in favour of an amber shirt with a blue 'V' neck, due to the number of times the club would be forced to wear its change strip during the season.^[1] Negative feedback from the supporters ensured that the change of colours was a one-season experiment.^[1]

Brentford started the 1960–61 season well and topped the table after winning the first two matches, but a 6–1 defeat to Watford at Vicarage Road on 30 August 1960 shook the team's confidence.^[2] The same XI atoned for that display with a 4–0 victory over Shrewsbury Town four days later, but the view had become prevalent around Griffin Park that some of Brentford's settled XI were past their peak.^[1] Manager MacDonald tinkered with his squad and bit-part, reserve or youth players Tommy Higginson, John Docherty, Ron Peplow and Johnny Hales were given runs in the team.^[3] Amidst a run of just two wins in 19 league matches, the new Football League Cup gave the Bees some cheer when Second Division club Sunderland were defeated 4–3 at Griffin Park in the club's first-ever match in the competition.^[2] The Bees were knocked out after a replay versus reigning Football League champions Burnley in the third round.^[2] A first round exit in the FA Cup in November ensured that the Third Division would be Brentford's sole focus for the remainder of the season.^[2]

Brentford entered 1961 in 15th place in the Third Division, only three points above the relegation zone.^[4] Chairman Frank Davis posted a £7,000 loss, which took the club's debt over £50,000 and a players' strike (in support of their claim for the removal of the maximum wage) was also a real possibility.^[1] In a bid to alleviate some of the club's debt, promising outside right John Docherty was sold to Sheffield United for a club record £17,000 in March 1961.^[5] The club rallied and lost just five of the remaining 21 matches of the season, but a failure to convert the 11 draws into wins (four consecutive home draws in February and March equalled the club record) ensured that Brentford finished in a lowly 17th place.^[2][6] Brentford's final match of the season versus Reading, although won 2–1, pushed the average league attendance at Griffin Park down to 7,392, which was the club's lowest since the 1924–25 season.^[1]

The "Terrible Twins" (forwards Jim Towers and George Francis) had a mixed season, with Towers scoring 22 goals (low by the standards set for himself) and Francis just 10,^[3] which led to him being dropped from the team in February 1961 – a decision which would have been considered unthinkable just six months earlier.^[1] Despite scoring 13 goals in 10 matches for the reserve team, Francis failed to earn a recall to the first team squad.^[1] Francis' replacement, teenager George Summers, scored six goals during the final months of the season.^[3]

Brentford's goal tally listed first.

Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1960–61 season.

More information Pos., Name ...

Pos.	Name	Nat.	Date of birth (age)	Signed from	Signed in	Notes
Goalkeepers
GK	Gerry Cakebread		(1936-04-01)1 April 1936 (aged 24)	Youth	1954
Defenders
DF	Vernon Avis		(1935-10-24)24 October 1935 (aged 24)	Youth	1952
DF	Ken Coote (c)		(1928-05-19)19 May 1928 (aged 32)	Wembley	1949
DF	Jimmy Gitsham		(1942-05-12)12 May 1942 (aged 18)	Youth	1959
DF	Tom Wilson		(1930-07-03)3 July 1930 (aged 30)	Fulham	1957
Midfielders
HB	George Bristow		(1933-06-25)25 June 1933 (aged 27)	Youth	1950
HB	Ian Dargie		(1931-10-03)3 October 1931 (aged 28)	Tonbridge	1952
HB	Billy Goundry		(1934-03-28)28 March 1934 (aged 26)	Huddersfield Town	1955
HB	Tommy Higginson		(1937-01-06)6 January 1937 (aged 23)	Kilmarnock	1959
HB	Ron Peplow		(1935-05-04)4 May 1935 (aged 25)	Southall	1955
Forwards
FW	Terry Curran		(1940-06-29)29 June 1940 (aged 20)	Tottenham Hotspur	1957
FW	John Docherty		(1940-04-29)29 April 1940 (aged 20)	St Roch's	1959
FW	George Francis		(1934-02-04)4 February 1934 (aged 26)	Youth	1955
FW	Johnny Hales		(1940-05-15)15 May 1940 (aged 20)	St Roch's	1958
FW	Dennis Heath		(1934-09-28)28 September 1934 (aged 25)	Youth	1954
FW	George McLeod		(1932-11-30)30 November 1932 (aged 27)	Luton Town	1958
FW	Danny O'Donnell		(1939-02-27)27 February 1939 (aged 21)	Kirkintilloch Rob Roy	1960	Loaned to Dumbarton
FW	Eric Parsons		(1923-11-09)9 November 1923 (aged 36)	Chelsea	1956
FW	Johnny Rainford		(1930-12-11)11 December 1930 (aged 29)	Cardiff City	1953
FW	George Summers		(1941-07-30)30 July 1941 (aged 19)	Shawfield	1959
FW	Jim Towers		(1933-04-15)15 April 1933 (aged 27)	Youth	1954

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• Sources: 100 Years Of Brentford,^[3] Timeless Bees^[7]