Yorkshire finished second to Lancashire in the County Championship in 1904 but regained the title in 1905. Hirst's leg-strain continued to cause him pain throughout the season and again hampered his bowling. Even so, he took 110 wickets at 19.94 and passed 2,000 runs for the second time, scoring 2,226 runs at an average of 53.95. Early in the season, Hirst scored 341 against Leicestershire, the highest score of his career and, as of 2015, the record individual innings by a Yorkshire batsman. On a good pitch for batting, he began his innings when Yorkshire had scored 22 for three wickets, in reply to Leicestershire's score of 419, batted just under seven hours and hit 53 fours and a six. Later that season, he scored another double century, hitting 232 not out against Surrey; only two other players reached double figures in the Yorkshire innings. In the same game, Hirst took five wickets for 43 runs.