After graduating in 1872, Sturgis entered the legal profession, becoming a barrister of the Inner Temple in 1876. During the same four years, he distinguished himself as a footballer, playing for the amateur team Wanderers when they won the FA Cup in 1873. As all the other players in this and the previous Cup Final were either English, Irish or Scottish, Sturgis was the first American to appear in, let alone play on the winning side of, an F.A. Cup Final. He also played for the Old Etonians, and in the FA Cup Semi-final against Oxford University at The Oval on 19 February 1876, he scored the only goal for the public school old boys to take them to their second consecutive final, against the Wanderers. He played in the final at The Oval. Sturgis also played for the Gitanos Football Club and at county level for Middlesex.