Barnsley

Born in Cudworth, Barnsley, Hirst turned professional in 1985 with his local side, Barnsley. His debut season saw him score nine goals in 28 Second Division games.

Sheffield Wednesday

On 11 August 1986, he signed for Sheffield Wednesday. He was brought to Wednesday by then manager Howard Wilkinson, just before the start of the 1986–87 season. The fee was £250,000. Barnsley's financial troubles saw the young striker sold. His Owls debut came against Charlton Athletic which was the first game of the season as Wednesday began the season away in a 1–1 First Division draw on 23 August 1986. However the following week he made his Hillsborough debut as a substitute against Everton in front of over 33,000 and he scored within minutes of entering the field. He would go on to make 21 league appearances that season, scoring six goals. By 1988–89 he was firmly established in the first team.^{[citation needed]}

He became a firm favourite and an idol of the Wednesday supporters, scoring 149 goals in 358 appearances during his eleven years at the club.^[1] He was capped three times for England, and scored once. He even managed to score and keep a clean sheet in the same match, (a 2–0 victory over Manchester City in January 1990) after he replaced an injured Kevin Pressman in goal.

In 1991, Hirst scored 32 goals as Wednesday were promoted back to the First Division at the first attempt, including a 4-goal haul against Hull City (a 5–1 win) on 1 September 1990. This form led to him being called up for the England B international against Switzerland, in which he scored both England goals in a 2–1 win. He was subsequently called into the full England squad for the tour of Australasia.

Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson tried six times to tempt Owls boss Trevor Francis to sell Hirst, but without success.^{[citation needed]} Two of these occasions were in 1992. First, after a shortage of goals in the second half of the 1991–92 season had cost United the championship, Ferguson attempted to sign Hirst during the close season, but the offer was refused. In November 1992, with United's title challenge flagging once again due to a shortage of goals, Ferguson offered the Owls £3million for Hirst, but the offer was rejected and United signed Eric Cantona instead.

In 1992 during a game at Highbury, Hirst suffered a broken ankle. It was the start of his injury problems. He still scored in the game and managed 16 goals in 33 games. In the same season Hirst played in the Sheffield Wednesday team that reached both domestic Finals – they lost both to Arsenal, but Hirst scored Wednesday's equaliser in the FA Cup Final at Wembley in a 1–1 draw before Arsenal won the replay 2–1.

The injuries mounted up and from August 1993 to May 1995 he played just 25 games and scored five goals. After two more years at Hillsborough and the odd glimpses of form from Hirst, he was sold by manager David Pleat to Southampton after he had emerged fit once again returning to the Owls first team.

Southampton

His exit from the Owls came on 17 October 1997, when Southampton manager Dave Jones paid a club record £2million for his services. He made his debut the next day in a 1–0 home defeat by Blackburn Rovers in the league, and in his first season at The Dell scored nine times in 28 league games as the Saints finished 11th in the Premier League. Highlights of this season include scoring twice against Tottenham Hotspur in his second appearance,^[2] and scoring twice again as Southampton beat Liverpool at Anfield.^[3] Hirst also scored the only goal as his side beat Leeds United 1–0 at Elland Road.^[4]

However, his injury problems returned in the 1998–99 season and he played just twice – these games were the last of his career. He retired from playing on 26 January 2000, at the age of 32, after being advised to do so by medical experts.^{[citation needed]}