 Originally a striker, Everton manager Harry Catterick made Hurst into a centre-half, a position in which he appeared in the 1968 FA Cup Final.He formed a defensive partnership with Brian Labone, the club captain of Everton at the time.Following the introduction of substitutes to English football in 1965 (for injury only) Hurst became Everton's first ever sub replacing Fred Pickering at Stoke City's Victoria Ground in August 1965.