Lettered three times in football and served as Wichita University's starting fullback in 1941 and 1942. He was named an honorable mention Small College All-American in 1942 and was invited to play in the East-West Shrine Game in San Francisco. That season, he scored eight touchdowns in nine games, despite seeing limited action in two contests because of injuries. He had a touchdown run of no less than 16 yards, including a 58-yard run and kickoff returns of 80 and 100 yards which was the longest in the nation that season. The '42 season saw Wichita University score its first victory over Kansas State since 1904 when Sturdy galloped 44 yards to set up his 18-yard touchdown run on the next play, and later he punted to the KSU 2-yard line to set up a safety for the resulting 9-0 score. He was also a standout sprinter on the track squad, recording a time of 9.7 seconds in the 100-yard dash and 46 years later at the time of his induction still held the 220-yard (200-meter) dash record. Inducted, 1988.