It was the 67th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1964 VFL season.

The match, attended by 102,471 spectators, was won by Melbourne by a margin of 4 points, marking the club's 12th premiership victory.

A 109 kg ruckman, Gabelich ran towards the goal, bounced the ball four times, nearly losing it on each occasion, and, with Melbourne players gaining on him, put it through the big sticks to take the lead in one of the VFL/AFL's most memorable Grand Final moments.

[2] Umpire: Ron Brophy Melbourne: Collingwood: For a long time, Terry Waters was credited with two goals in the grand final.

In January 2020, historians reviewed the game and determined that one of Waters goals had been scored by Ian Graham instead, and the scorecard was amended.