The most common version is that the name came from his unusual style of running the bases while flapping his arms.

The second version, advanced by Stearnes himself, was that he gained the nickname due to a pot belly he had as a child.

Stearnes began his career in professional baseball in 1921 with the Montgomery Grey Sox of the Southern Negro League.

All arms and legs, Stearnes was a pastiche of oddities; in his batting stance he leaned way forward and his back foot pointed straight up.

[8]In 1922, Stearnes joined the Memphis Red Sox of the Southern Negro League and continued to play well.

The Detroit Stars sent catcher Bruce Petway to Memphis to scout Stearnes, who was then playing first base and pitcher.

After finishing high school, Stearnes traveled to Detroit and joined the Stars in March 1923.

In an interview with Negro league historian John B. Holway, Stearnes described his move to Detroit:I came north in 1923, March 1.

"[5][b] As a rookie in 1923, Stearnes immediately became one of the top players of the Negro National League (NNL).

He led the NNL with 14 triples and ranked among the NNL leaders with 49 extra base hits (second), 136 putouts in center field (second), 17 home runs (third), 85 RBIs (third), 70 runs scored (third), 198 total bases (third), a .710 slugging percentage (third), and a .362 batting average (seventh).

[3] Stearnes' remained a fixture with the Stars, holding down the center field position for nine years from 1923 to 1931.

[5][9] In 1931, his final year with the Stars, Stearnes won his second NNL batting championship with a .376 average and again led the league in on-base percentage (.465) and slugging (.632).

[3] The Detroit Stars folded after the 1931 season, and Stearnes joined the 1932 Cole's American Giants of Chicago and helped lead the team to the Negro National League pennant.

He led the Negro National League with five triples and 120 putouts by a center fielder and ranked among the leagues leaders with 122 total bases (second), 74 hits (second), 23 extra base hits (second), 43 RBIs (second), 45 runs scored (third), 10 home runs (third) and a .571 slugging percentage (fourth).

[3] Stearnes concluded his major-league career with the Chicago American Giants (1937–38) and Kansas City Monarchs (1938–40).

In 1940, his final major-league season, Stearnes at age 39 led the NAL in both RBIs (33) and home runs (5).

[3] Despite his slender build, Stearnes led the Negro major leagues in home runs seven times—1924, 1925, 1928, 1931, 1932, 1939, and 1940.

His 187 career home runs is the most in Negro leagues history, seven more than second-place Mule Suttles.

In his history of the Negro leagues, Leslie A. Heaphy wrote: "Stearnes generally led off even though he had a fair amount of power.

The Negro League Baseball Museum described it as follows: "Stearnes had an unique stance, with his front foot turned heel down and toe pointed straight up, but although not a heavy man, he was a natural hitter with powerful shoulders.

"[12] Biographer Richard Bak described the stance as "right foot splayed, the toe pointed skyward.

"[13] Another contemporary, Jimmie Crutchfield, recalled Stearnes as a "quicky-jerky sort of guy who could hit the ball a mile.

"[14] Despite having played pitcher and first base before joining the Stars, Sternes also won a reputation as one of the best center fielders in the history of the Negro leagues.

Negro league contemporary Ted Radcliffe opined that even "Cool Papa Bell couldn't field with Turkey Stearnes.

He worked for 30 years for the Ford Motor Company in the foundry at the River Rouge plant.

Later that year, he suffered complications after surgery at Detroit's Harper Hospital for a large stomach ulcer, falling into a coma.

Even as the Hall began to induct others who had played only in the Negro leagues (Cool Papa Bell in 1974, Oscar Charleston in 1976, and Pop Lloyd in 1977), Stearnes was overlooked.

"[24] Stearnes' biographer Richard Bak added: "Lacking a colorful personality, he never was a fixture in the storytelling that earned other Negro leaguers belated entry to Cooperstown in the 1970s and 1980s.

Bob Sampson, who was track coach at Cass Tech High School, recalled: "You could go up to him and say something to him, but he wouldn't talk.