Cubs Shortstop Billy Jurges Shot 85 Years Ago-- Part 1: Shot By His Lover

From the July 6, 2007, Chicago Tribune 'Shooting of Cub Billy Jurges' marks anniversary" by Phil Thompson.

Cubs history can be a bit bizarre, but July 6, 1932, it got just a bit stranger when Cubs shortstop  Billy Jurges was shot in his hotel room by a spurned lover.

Violet Popvich Valli shot him and the whole affair is the subject of an article by Jack Bales in "The Show Girl and the Shortstop:  The Strange Saga of Violet Popovich and Her Shooting of Cub Billy Jurges."

Most accounts say the problems started in New York when she pressed Jurges about their future.  During homestands, Jurges lived at the Hotel Carlos in Chicago, now an apartment complex on Sheffield Avenue.    Popovich stayed there on occasions.

--And, the Plot Thickens.  --CootCub