Bahia, Cruzeiro and Botafogo were the only champions to have played all phases of the tournament, because until the 1968 edition teams from Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo were already qualified to the semi-finals.

Both Cruzeiro and Bahia, the only champions not from Rio or São Paulo, beat the Santos Futebol Clube whose players included Pelé, Coutinho and Pepe.

The Taça Brasil was founded to enable Brazil to provide contenders for the newly created Copa Libertadores de América.

From 1959 to 1964 the winner of Taça Brasil was selected to be the sole Brazilian competitor in the next year's Copa Libertadores.

In 1965 and 1966, the two finalists of the Taça Brasil were both chosen to represent Brazil in the next year's Copa Libertadores, which was expanded in 1966.