Billy Jurges
Encyclopedia
William Frederick Jurges (May 9, 1908 — March 3, 1997) was an American
shortstop
, manager
, coach
and scout
in Major League Baseball
. He was born in Bronx, New York. During the 1930s, he was central to three National League
champion Chicago Cubs
teams. In July 1932, Jurges recovered from gunshot wounds — suffered when a distraught former girlfriend tried to kill him — to help lead the Cubs to the NL flag.
only .258 in 1,816 games over 17 seasons — but a good defensive shortstop. During his eight seasons (1931–38) in Chicago, he anchored an infield of Stan Hack
(third base
), Billy Herman
(second base
), and Charlie Grimm
or Phil Cavarretta
(first base
). He then played seven more seasons (1939–45) with the New York Giants
, missing over 90 games in after he was hit in the head by a pitched ball. However, he recovered to play regularly for the Giants from 1941-43. He returned to the Cubs as a player-coach (1946–47).
for convincing Jurges to break up with her. Although initial reports stated that Jurges was shot while trying to wrestle the gun from Valli, later reports, based on Valli's suicide note, stated that she was trying to kill Jurges as well as commit suicide.
A week after the shooting, charges were dismissed against Valli when Jurges appeared in court and announced that he would not testify and wished to drop the charges. Valli was later involved in a lawsuit when she sued a real estate developer who was blackmailing her by threatening to release letters in which Valli threatened Jurges.
and Milwaukee Braves, before returning to the coaching ranks with the original Washington Senators
franchise in . On July 3, , still a Washington coach, he was named the surprise manager of the Boston Red Sox
, who had fired Pinky Higgins
. Jurges was able to rally Boston in '59: the Bosox won 44 of 80 games under him, improving from eighth to fifth place, and finally broke the color line
with the promotion of Pumpsie Green
from AAA.
But the Red Sox, facing the end of Ted Williams
' great career in , were a team in disarray. Composed of aging veterans and mostly unpromising youngsters — and stunned by the sudden retirement, in his prime, of right fielder
and Most Valuable Player
Jackie Jensen
— the 1960 Red Sox fell into the American League
basement after losing 27 of their first 42 games. Jurges, an intense competitor, suffered in an alien organization composed largely of cronies of owner Tom Yawkey
. The Red Sox front office was about to undergo a massive shakeup, with Jurges' patron, general manager
Bucky Harris
, on his way out the door. On June 8, Jurges left the team, citing illness. (Some Boston baseball writers believed that he suffered from nervous exhaustion.) He was fired two days later, and, after coach Del Baker
handled the team for a week, Higgins returned to the manager's post he had lost 11 months before.
Jurges never managed again in baseball (his final record was 59 wins, 63 losses — .484) but he scouted for the Houston Colt .45s/Astros
, the expansion Washington Senators
and its successor, the Texas Rangers
, and the Cubs. He died at age 88 in Clearwater, Florida
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
shortstop
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...
, manager
Manager (baseball)
In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...
, coach
Coach (baseball)
In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, or head coach, who determines the lineup and decides how to substitute players during the game...
and scout
Scout (sport)
In professional sports, scouts are trained talent evaluators who travel extensively for the purposes of watching athletes play their chosen sports and determining whether their set of skills and talents represent what is needed by the scout's organization...
in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
. He was born in Bronx, New York. During the 1930s, he was central to three National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
champion Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
teams. In July 1932, Jurges recovered from gunshot wounds — suffered when a distraught former girlfriend tried to kill him — to help lead the Cubs to the NL flag.
Career as a player
A right-handed batter and thrower, he was a light hitter — he battedBatting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
only .258 in 1,816 games over 17 seasons — but a good defensive shortstop. During his eight seasons (1931–38) in Chicago, he anchored an infield of Stan Hack
Stan Hack
Stanley Camfield Hack , nicknamed "Smiling Stan," was an American third baseman and manager in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Chicago Cubs and was the National League's top third baseman in the late 1930s and early 1940s...
(third base
Third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...
), Billy Herman
Billy Herman
William Jennings Bryan "Billy" Herman was an American second baseman in Major League Baseball during the 1930s and 1940s. He was known for his stellar defense and consistent batting...
(second base
Second baseman
Second base, or 2B, is the second of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that player's team. A second baseman is the baseball player guarding second base...
), and Charlie Grimm
Charlie Grimm
Charles John Grimm , nicknamed "Jolly Cholly", was a first baseman and manager in Major League Baseball best known for his years with the Chicago Cubs; he was also a sometime radio broadcaster, and a popular goodwill ambassador for baseball...
or Phil Cavarretta
Phil Cavarretta
Philip Joseph Cavarretta was an American Major League Baseball first baseman, outfielder, and manager.Cavarretta spent almost his entire baseball career with the Chicago Cubs. He was voted the National League Most Valuable Player after leading the Cubs to the pennant while winning the batting...
(first base
First baseman
First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team...
). He then played seven more seasons (1939–45) with the New York Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
, missing over 90 games in after he was hit in the head by a pitched ball. However, he recovered to play regularly for the Giants from 1941-43. He returned to the Cubs as a player-coach (1946–47).
Shooting
On July 6, 1932, Violet Valli, a showgirl with whom Jurges was romantically linked, tried to kill Jurges at the Hotel Carlos, where both lived. Jurges had previously tried to end their relationship. Valli (born Violet Popovich) also left a suicide note in which she blamed Cubs outfielder Kiki CuylerKiki Cuyler
Hazen Shirley "Kiki" Cuyler was a Major League Baseball right fielder from 1921 until 1938. He was born in Harrisville, Michigan.Cuyler broke into the big leagues in 1921 with the Pittsburgh Pirates and became a fixture in the lineup in 1924...
for convincing Jurges to break up with her. Although initial reports stated that Jurges was shot while trying to wrestle the gun from Valli, later reports, based on Valli's suicide note, stated that she was trying to kill Jurges as well as commit suicide.
A week after the shooting, charges were dismissed against Valli when Jurges appeared in court and announced that he would not testify and wished to drop the charges. Valli was later involved in a lawsuit when she sued a real estate developer who was blackmailing her by threatening to release letters in which Valli threatened Jurges.
Career as coach, manager and scout
Jurges was a coach in 1948 under manager Grimm. After leaving the Cubs in 1948, Jurges managed briefly in the farm systems of the Cleveland IndiansCleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
and Milwaukee Braves, before returning to the coaching ranks with the original Washington Senators
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
franchise in . On July 3, , still a Washington coach, he was named the surprise manager of the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
, who had fired Pinky Higgins
Pinky Higgins
Michael Franklin "Pinky" Higgins was an American third baseman, manager, front office executive and scout in Major League Baseball who played for three teams and served as manager or general manager of the Boston Red Sox during the period of through . He batted and threw right-handed.-Playing...
. Jurges was able to rally Boston in '59: the Bosox won 44 of 80 games under him, improving from eighth to fifth place, and finally broke the color line
Baseball color line
The color line in American baseball excluded players of black African descent from Organized Baseball, or the major leagues and affiliated minor leagues, until Jackie Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers organization for the 1946 season...
with the promotion of Pumpsie Green
Pumpsie Green
Elijah Jerry "Pumpsie" Green is a former Major League Baseball backup infielder who played with the Boston Red Sox and New York Mets . He was a switch-hitter who threw right-handed....
from AAA.
But the Red Sox, facing the end of Ted Williams
Ted Williams
Theodore Samuel "Ted" Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year Major League Baseball career as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox...
' great career in , were a team in disarray. Composed of aging veterans and mostly unpromising youngsters — and stunned by the sudden retirement, in his prime, of right fielder
Right fielder
A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound...
and Most Valuable Player
Most Valuable Player
In sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
Jackie Jensen
Jackie Jensen
Jack Eugene Jensen was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball who played for three American League teams from 1950 to 1961, most notably the Boston Red Sox...
— the 1960 Red Sox fell into the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
basement after losing 27 of their first 42 games. Jurges, an intense competitor, suffered in an alien organization composed largely of cronies of owner Tom Yawkey
Tom Yawkey
Thomas Austin Yawkey, born Thomas Austin , was an American industrialist and Major League Baseball executive. Born in Detroit, Michigan, Yawkey became president of the Boston Red Sox in 1933, and was the sole owner of the team for 44 seasons, longer than anyone else in baseball history.-Early...
. The Red Sox front office was about to undergo a massive shakeup, with Jurges' patron, general manager
General manager (baseball)
In Major League Baseball, the general manager of a team typically controls player transactions and bears the primary responsibility on behalf of the ballclub during contract discussions with players....
Bucky Harris
Bucky Harris
Stanley Raymond "Bucky" Harris was a Major League Baseball player, manager and executive. In 1975, the Veterans Committee elected Harris, as a manager, to the Baseball Hall of Fame.-Biography:...
, on his way out the door. On June 8, Jurges left the team, citing illness. (Some Boston baseball writers believed that he suffered from nervous exhaustion.) He was fired two days later, and, after coach Del Baker
Del Baker
Delmer David Baker was an American catcher, coach and manager in Major League Baseball. As a manager, he led the 1940 Detroit Tigers to the American League pennant...
handled the team for a week, Higgins returned to the manager's post he had lost 11 months before.
Jurges never managed again in baseball (his final record was 59 wins, 63 losses — .484) but he scouted for the Houston Colt .45s/Astros
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...
, the expansion Washington Senators
Texas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
and its successor, the Texas Rangers
Texas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
, and the Cubs. He died at age 88 in Clearwater, Florida
Clearwater, Florida
Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, US, nearly due west of Tampa and northwest of St. Petersburg. In the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and in the east lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 108,787. It is the county seat of...
.
External links
- Baseball-Reference.com - career playing statistics and managing record