Hurst was born in Ashton-under-Lyne in Lancashire. He also had a distinguished playing career, principally with the London side, West Ham United F.C. In the period from 1959 to 1972 he made more than 400 league appearances, helping West Ham to win both the F.A. Cup in 1964, and in 1965, the Cup Winners' Cup. In all, he scored 252 goals in 502 games, and to this day remains a legend amongst Hammers fans.
Hurst was capped 49 times for England, scoring 24 goals at international level. The most celebrated of these is without doubt the 1966 World Cup final against Germany. The eventual outcome of the game was a 4-2 win for England. His inclusion in the World Cup final side was at the expense of the established but injured striker, Jimmy Greaves. There was considerable controversy (which still persists) regarding one of the goals in which the ball may (or may not) have crossed the goal line before being awarded by the referee after extensive consultations with his Russian linesman.
In 1972 Hurst moved from West Ham to Stoke City F.C for £75,000, which, at that time, was a considerable sum of money for a football player. He scored 37 goals in 128 games for Stoke before being transferred to West Bromwich Albion F.C for the sum of £20,000 in the twilight of his playing career.
He had a short career as a football manager, as manager of Chelsea F.C and non-league Telford United F.C.
He also played cricket for Essex against Lancashire, making him the only first-class cricketer to have won a World Cup winner's medal.
He was knighted in 1998, becoming Sir Geoff Hurst, M.B.E.