Kirsch was a basketball player at Siena college from 1951-54 and graduated in 1956, but then returned to coach his alma mater. While he worked at Siena he served as Head Basketball Coach from 1972-82 and then solely as the Athletic Director until 1992. As a player, he etched his name in Siena lore on December 12, 1953, when he beat the buzzer with a game-winning 60-foot shot in a 56-54 win over Iona at Madison Square Garden. The shot holds the record for the longest made at the old garden. He was also a member of the 1951-52 Siena team which posted a 24-6 record and earned a berth in what would be the final National Catholic Invitational Tournament. A two-sport star at Siena, Kirsch also starred at shortstop for the baseball team.
Kirsch currently ranks as the third winningest coach in Siena Basketball history, amassing a 142-111 overall record. The pinnacle of success came during the 1973-74 season, when he led Siena to an 18-9 record and an NCAA Division II Tournament berth. Known for his traditional postgame cigar, Kirsch piloted Siena to .500 or better records in nine of his 10 seasons at the helm, with his only losing campaign coming during the program's transitional Division I season in 1976-77. He coached two sons, Tim (1974-77) and Ned (1980-81) during his time at the helm.
During his tenure as Siena’s athletic director, he presided over the construction of the Alumni Recreation Center in 1974 was the driving force behind Siena's move to upgrade all of its program to the Division I level in 1976. Kirsch oversaw the men’s basketball program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance and victory in 1989 and helped to organize the college’s affiliation with the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in 1989. He oversaw the athletic department’s administrative transition from Division II to Division I status, as well as Siena’s expansion to 17 varsity sports at the time of his retirement.
Prior to returning to his alma mater, he taught and coached at Russell Sage College and the Sage Junior College of Albany (JCA), where he posted a 78-19 (.804) record from 1966-72, highlighted by four consecutive Northeastern Collegiate Conference Championships. JCA was invited to the National Little College Postseason Basketball Tournament in each of his six seasons at the helm. He was also inducted into the Upstate New York Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014. He died on December 9, 2018, at the age of 86.
