51 Facts About James Hird

1.

James Albert Hird was born on 4 February 1973 and is a former professional Australian rules football player and past senior coach of the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League.

2.

James Hird was a highly decorated footballer, with accolades including the 1996 Brownlow Medal and membership of the Australian Football Hall of Fame.

3.

James Hird was appointed as the coach of the Essendon Football Club in September 2010.

4.

James Hird returned to the club following the 2014 season but resigned in August 2015.

5.

James Hird was born in Canberra, where his father worked in the public service and his mother was a teacher, although they had met in Melbourne.

6.

When James Hird was in high school, the family moved to the suburb of Reid.

7.

James Hird participated in rugby league, ballet, and soccer in his youth.

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8.

James Hird played for the Ainslie Football Club in the ACTAFL, and in June 1990, at the age of 17, he was a member of the league's senior representative team in a match against the Victorian Football Association.

9.

James Hird was recruited to the AFL by Essendon from the 1990 AFL Draft; however, due to a serious hip injury along with other injuries in his junior football career, he was not selected until pick number 79, Essendon's seventh pick and one of the last in the draft.

10.

The majority voted in favour of James Hird being delisted, but coach Kevin Sheedy, sensing a promising future for the young James Hird, voted to keep him.

11.

James Hird made his senior debut against St Kilda in 1992 at Waverley Park as a late replacement for former captain Terry Daniher.

12.

James Hird spent most of the season in the Essendon Reserves, which, under Denis Pagan, won the premiership that season.

13.

James Hird achieved regular selection in the Essendon senior team during the 1993 season.

14.

In 1994, James Hird won the first of three consecutive best-and-fairest awards, culminating in his 1996 season that earned him a Brownlow Medal.

15.

James Hird played only seven games in 1997, and, although he was named captain in 1998, he was restricted to thirteen games that year due to injury-related issues.

16.

In 2003, despite again missing many games through various injuries, James Hird tied with Scott Lucas for the best-and-fairest award.

17.

James Hird narrowly missed out on a second Brownlow Medal, finishing three votes shy of joint winners Mark Ricciuto, Nathan Buckley and Adam Goodes.

18.

James Hird gained a place in the 2003 All-Australian team, the fifth and final time in his career.

19.

Up until three-quarter time, James Hird had 19 disposals and one goal; in the final quarter he managed 15 disposals and two decisive goals.

20.

James Hird's winning goal was the focus of a popular instalment of the Toyota Memorable Moments advertising campaign, and the hug is captured in Jamie Cooper's painting the Game That Made Australia, commissioned by the AFL in 2008 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the sport.

21.

On 27 September 2005, James Hird handed the captaincy to Matthew Lloyd following the side's 2005 season in which it missed the finals for the first time since 1997.

22.

James Hird continued to be an outstanding performer in his utility role when fit, but age was forcing him to miss games through injury with increasing frequency.

23.

James Hird suffered broken ribs and a calf strain during his 200th and 250th games, respectively.

24.

Aged 34, James Hird continued to feature prominently among Essendon's best players and concluded his career by winning a fifth best-and-fairest award.

25.

James Hird played two farewell games: his final game in Victoria at the Melbourne Cricket Ground against Richmond and his final game overall at Subiaco Oval against West Coast.

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26.

James Hird was one of the best on field in his final game, with 34 disposals, one shy of his career high.

27.

Immediately after James Hird retired from playing football, there was much speculation as to whether he would be interested in a coaching role at a club in the AFL, but primarily at Essendon.

28.

James Hird stated that he was ruling himself out of coaching Essendon for at least three years.

29.

On 28 September 2010, the rumours were confirmed when Essendon's chief executive officer, Ian Robson, and chairman, David Evans, announced at an official press conference that James Hird would be the next senior coach of the Essendon Football Club on a four-year contract.

30.

James Hird's coaching career began with the Bombers winning against triple preliminary finalists the Western Bulldogs in the first round.

31.

James Hird coached Essendon to the 2011 finals, where they lost against rivals Carlton in an elimination final at the MCG.

32.

James Hird returned to the club following the 2014 season.

33.

Shortly after returning from his suspension, on 2 October 2014, it was reported that James Hird was to be sacked by Essendon due to his determination to lodge an appeal against the Federal Court decision handed down the previous month when the club had chosen not to.

34.

On 17 May 2022, it was announced that James Hird would be joining the coaching staff at Greater Western Sydney as part-time assistant coach for the rest of the 2022 season under GWS caretaker senior coach and his former teammate Mark McVeigh, who replaced Leon Cameron after he resigned as the club's senior coach midway through the season.

35.

On 2 February 2023, it was announced that James Hird left GWS Giants.

36.

James Hird became a writer for Melbourne newspaper the Herald Sun.

37.

James Hird jointly won the Brownlow Medal with Michael Voss in 1996, the award for the fairest and best player in the Australian Football League.

38.

James Hird was eventually named as the number three player on the all-time list of Essendon players.

39.

On 27 August 2013, following much negotiation, James Hird accepted charges that he had brought the game into disrepute and abandoned possible Supreme Court action against the AFL and its chief executive, Andrew Demetriou.

40.

James Hird maintained that he did little wrong, but said he should have known more about the club's supplements program.

41.

James Hird was banned from working at any AFL club in any capacity for twelve months commencing from 25 August 2013.

42.

James Hird was allowed to attend Essendon matches as a spectator during this period.

43.

At the time of the media report, James Hird was considering legal action against both the AFL and Demetriou.

44.

Essendon chairman Paul Little said that James Hird would be wanted as the senior coach once his suspension was served and that he had been offered a two-year extension from 2015, which would have seen him coaching until the end of the 2016 season.

45.

However, James Hird resigned after round 20 in August 2015, near the end of the season, with the team near the bottom of the ladder.

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46.

James Hird married Tania Poynton on 11 October 1997, and they have four children: a daughter and three sons.

47.

One of his sons, Tomas James Hird, is a category B rookie at Essendon, who was drafted in 2019 and re-signed for the 2022 season.

48.

James Hird completed a bachelor's degree in civil engineering in 1998 and worked in that capacity as a consultant on the CityLink project.

49.

James Hird has spent time working for a stockbroking firm and is an active partner in Gemba, a sports marketing and media consultancy firm based in Melbourne.

50.

On 5 January 2017, James Hird was taken to a private hospital following a drug overdose and suspected suicide attempt and was transferred to a specialist mental health care facility for further care and treatment.

51.

On 28 November 2018, James Hird was hit by a car when cycling in Richmond.