The 1960–61 season was Port Vale's 49th season of football in the Football League, and their second season in the Third Division. Aiming for promotion, the club were disappointed with their eventual seventh-place finish. The first season of the League Cup ended for Vale at the Second Round, whilst they exited the FA Cup at the Third Round. They did however taste success in the second and last ever Supporters' Clubs' Trophy series, beating rivals Stoke City 1–0 in a replay.

The pre-season saw the club's management attempt to build a squad capable of promotion, this meant recruiting former Wales international inside-right Noel Kinsey from Birmingham City as a player-coach, and 21-year-old outside-left Dennis Fidler from the Manchester City Reserves. It also meant a concerted effort to sign a star forward, a £10,000 offer for Aston Villa's Gerry Hitchens was rejected, and the club's interest in Ronnie Allen also went nowhere. Instead 'bustling' Ted Calland was signed on a free transfer from Exeter City.Fred Donaldson was sold to Exeter for £2,000.Vale Park was also improved, with yet more new drains installed to help ease the winter mud spots.

The season opened with a Harry Poole goal fifty seconds into an eventual 1–1 draw with Walsall in front of a season-best attendance of 15,504 on 20 August. Vale's campaign really got going nine days later however, with a sequence of three consecutive victories. This included a 7–1 'annihilation' of Chesterfield. Seven games without a win followed, ending with a collapse to an impressive Swindon Town side at The County Ground on 1 October. Vale were much improved after this, recording six wins from eight games. The following month Norman Low signed Bert Llewellyn from Crewe Alexandra for £7,000. Llewellyn scored past Barnsley in his debut game on 12 November, and scored a hat-trick past Hull City the next month. This win over the "Tigers" came a week after a 5–0 win over high-flying Grimsby Town at Blundell Park, in what Roy Sproson later described as his 'greatest memory' and 'one of their finest hours'. The performance was so impressive they received 'a standing ovation' from the home crowd, as the "Valiants" finished the game 'rolling the ball about like a game of chess'.

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