The prize was initiated by the French football magazine in 1956, and the results were published in the 822nd issue of the magazine on December 12, 1961, when 19 football journalists from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the former Czech Republic, England, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, the former Soviet Union, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the former West Germany and the former Yugoslavia voted. The specific results are as follows:
Ballon d'Or: Omar Sivori (Italy), who played for Juventus at the time, was born on 2 October 1935 in San Nicolás, Argentina, and became an Italian citizen. He is the first Italian player to win this award and the second Argentinian player to win it after Di Stéfano. He died in his hometown on February 17, 2005, at the age of 69.
He made his debut at River Plate and entered Italian football in 1957, playing for 12 years at Juventus and Napoli, scoring 147 goals in 278 Serie A appearances. Between 1956 and 1957, he made 19 appearances for the Argentine national team, scored nine goals, participated in the 1956 and 1957 Copa America, and was a member of the Argentine title in 1957. Between 1961 and 1962, he made nine appearances for the Italian national team, scoring eight goals and participating in the 1962 World Cup.
Silver Ball: Luis Suárez Miramontes (Spain), who played for Inter Milan at the time, was born on May 2, 1935 in Deportivo de Galicia, Spain, and was the last European Ballon d'Or.
Bronze Globe: Johnny Haynes (England), then playing for Fulham, was born on October 17, 1934 in Kent, London, England, and died on October 18, 2005 in Edinburgh, Scotland, at the age of 71.
The final results of the 1961 European Golden Globe Awards are as follows: