From SoSH

William Frederick Jurges took command of the Red Sox dugout after a 17-year playing career. Under the guidence of Billy, the 1959-60 Red Sox went 59-63 finishing 5th and 7th in the AL respectively. Billy Jurges passed away March 3, 1997 in Clearwater, FL.

Contents 1 Playing Career 2 Managerial Record 2.1 Shooting 3 External Links

Playing Career

• Jurges was a 3-time ALL-STAR (1937, 1939 and 1940) for the Cubs
• He played in 3 World Series' with the Cubs(1932, 1935 and 1938), losing them all. However, he batted .275, with 11 hits and 4 runs in 13-WS games.
• Jurges had 1613 hits in 1816 games in his 17-year long playing career.

Managerial Record

 Year     League    Team     Age     G     W    L    WP   Finished
   1959 American Lg BostonRS  51    80   44   36   .550      5
   1960 American Lg BostonRS  52    42   15   27   .357      7
         TOTAL                  122     59    63    .484

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 Cuyler 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. This incident would form the basis for Bernard Malamud's novel The Natural.

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.

External Links

• Managerial Record[1]-Baseball-reference.com
  
• Playing Stats[2]-Baseball-reference.com