[1] He attended Nanticoke High School and was a standout four-sport athlete, playing baseball, track, basketball and football, and was named All-Scholastic in the latter two.

[1][3][4] He first saw varsity action as a sophomore in 1937, and competed with Carl Tomasello for playing time at the "wing" position.

[5] He fractured a bone in his wrist early in the season but continued playing, reportedly turning in his best performances afterwards according to The Tribune.

[8] Turley also saw action for the varsity basketball team that year as a reserve, with one newspaper writing that he shows "remarkable improvement.

[16] After going unselected in the 1940 NFL draft, Turley was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

[19][20] Turley appeared in all nine games, eight as a starter, for the 1942 Clippers, contributing to their 8–1 record that included wins of over 28 points in all but the season finale, when they tied the Philadelphia Eagles 21–21.

[23] The NFL held what was described as a "peculiar 'hat trick' drafting scheme" in 1944 in which former American Association players were picked, and Turley ended up being sent to the Washington Redskins.

[29] His one score came in a 42–20 win over Card-Pitt and was a 35-yard pass thrown by Sammy Baugh, which would be the longest play of Turley's career.

[29][31] He later recalled the championship in an interview with The News Journal's Matt Zabitka: We played that game [won by the Rams 15–14] in subzero weather.

[31]The Los Angeles Times named Turley Washington's most outstanding end during the 1945 season and reported that for his "quiet, unassuming way," he was one of the most popular members of the team.

[29] Turley was pursued by the Wilmington Clippers (having returned to the AA from their suspension) and a team in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) in 1947, but ultimately remained with Washington.

[34][35] He became the fifth head coach in the team's history (preceded by Dutch Slagle, Walt Masters, George Veneroso and Les Dodson).

[37] Wilmington opened the regular season with a 38–0 loss to the Richmond Rebels and then defeated the Jersey City Giants 6–0.

[37] The Clippers lost their third game, against the Paterson Panthers, by a score of 27–0, after which the team president made a stunning and unprecedented move to demote Turley to being an assistant and replace him with Larry Weldon.

[39] Weldon made his coaching debut against Bethlehem on the day of Turley's signing, and the Bulldogs defeated the Clippers by a score of 22–7.

[47] In the 1944–45 season, Turley played for St. Ann's and for the professional Wilmington Blue Bombers of the American Basketball League (ABL).