He was selected as a first-team All-Pro eight times (1940–1944, 1946–1948) and was a member of Bears teams that won NFL championships in 1940, 1941, 1943, and 1946.

After his playing career was over, Turner held assistant coaching positions with Baylor University (1953) and the Chicago Bears (1954–1957).

"[4] By the fall of his sophomore year, Turner had gained 18 pounds and won the job as the starting center on the Hardin–Simmons Cowboys football team.

[5] Turner later recalled his college experience as follows: "We got room, board and tuition, but we had to buy our own books and we were supposed to take care of two jobs.

"[3] In September 1938, Turner first gained national attention when Associated Press photographer Jimmy Laughead, playing off Turner's strength and his background growing up in West Texas Hereford cattle country, took his picture posing with a 240-pound calf around his shoulders.

[9][10] At the end of the 1939 season, Turner was selected by the New York Sun as the first-team center on the 1939 College Football All-America Team.

[16] While Turner was in college, he was the subject of recruitment efforts by George Richards, the owner of the Detroit Lions.

[18] In the championship game, Turner intercepted a Sammy Baugh pass and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown.

At the end of the 1942 season, Turner was selected as the first-team center on the All-Pro team by the NFL, AP, INS, and NYDN.

He was selected as a first-team All-Pro by the AP, UP, INS, NYDN, and Pro Football Illustrated (PFI).

On December 3, 1944, Turner was shifted into the backfield late in a game against Card-Pitt; he had a 48-yard run for the only rushing touchdown of his career.

[37] In January 1945, Turner was inducted into the United States Army Air Forces and was assigned as a physical training instructor.

[37] He was granted furlough to play two games for the Bears and then returned to the Superbombers team where he finished the 1945 football season.

[38][39] At the end of the season, Turner was the leading pick on the All-Army Air Forces conference football team.

"[51] During the 1952 NFL season, Turner was both a player for the Bears and an assistant coach responsible for instructing the guards and centers.

He had a ranch in nearby Gatesville, and was responsible for coaching the offensive centers and defensive linebackers.

[55] He worked from the pressbox and communicated by telephone to George Halas about weaknesses he had observed in opponents' defenses.

[57] In December 1961, Turner was hired as the head coach of the New York Titans of the American Football League.

[59] However, owner Harry Wismer was broke and unable to pay the players, who refused to practice and went on a two-day strike.

Wismer threatened to put the entire team on waivers, and his erratic behavior, including hastily placing six starters on waivers after a loss and threatening to sue the Denver Broncos after quarterback Lee Grosscup was injured on a hard tackle, caused the Titans to be described as "the kookiest franchise in professional football.

"[60] Even with financial assistance from other AFL clubs, the Titans' payroll deficiencies continued, and Turner had to expend energy just enticing his team to suit up.

[81][82] In the 1980s, Turner developed further health problems, including diabetes, cancer, and heart disease requiring installation of a pacemaker.

His wife, Gladys, also contracted lung cancer, and the couple lived in a house trailer on their Texas ranch.