William Congreve, in his play The Mourning Bride, wrote that “Heav’n has no Rage, like Love to Hatred turn’d, Nor Hell a Fury, like a Woman scorn’d.” Chicago Cubs shortstop Billy Jurges learned that painful lesson when he was shot by his former girlfriend on this day in 1932.
We all have stories about a crazy ex. Maybe they broke a car window, or stole your cat, or just spent days sitting outside your house in their car, waiting for you to come home. Maybe they threaten violence, either to themselves or to you, in an attempt to force one to stay in a relationship. It’s a tough situation to be in.
However, few people likely had a crazy ex story quite like Chicago Cubs shortstop Billy Jurges did. While in his hotel room, his former girlfriend, a lounge singer named Violet Valli, called Jurges, then entered his room with the intent to kill herself. Jurges grabbed the gun, resulting in his being shot in the hand, with a second bullet passing through his rib cage.
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Jurges, miraculously, would only be out of the lineup for three weeks while he recuperated. Meanwhile, the Cubs, who were in contention for the National League title, went out and signed former Yankees shortstop Mark Koenig as an insurance policy. In a way, this would play into the storyline for the World Series betwixt the Chicago Cubs and the New York Yankees that year; Koenig was offered a half share for the postseason, angering his former teammates, who took their annoyance out on Chicago.
In a way, everything would work out fine for both parties. Jurges was able to get healthy, and had a solid 17 year career, making three All Star Games and finishing as high as 12th on the MVP ballot. Valli, after Jurges refused to prosecute her, would come to sign a 22 week contract to sing in local nightclubs and theartres, where she was billed as ‘Violet (What I Did for Love) Valli – the Most Talked About Girl in Chicago.’
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Whenever we have a crazed ex to deal with, we should remember that it could be worse. We could, after all, have an ex like Billy Jurges had.