Conjuring a Cub
Spirit of Billy Jurges says 2008 could be great for club that last won it all in 1908
Like gin in a bottle, spring is swirling inside everyone. And a peek into the future reveals crazy love, lust for money and a song no longer worth singing.
This isn't about "American Idol."
(Courtesy/Al Podgorski/Sun-Times)
Monday is opening day for the Chicago Cubs.
Of course, it isn't just another opening day. This season marks 100 years since the Cubs last won a world championship. To commemorate this event I got ahold of dead Cubs shorststop Billy Jurges.
Why Jurges?
He was born on May 9, 1908.
He died in 1997. On July 6, 1932, cabaret singer Violet Valli (no relation to Frankie) visited Jurges at the Hotel Carlos, now the Sheffield House, 3834 N. Sheffield. Jurges was in Room 509, according to The Golden Era Cubs 1876-1940 (Bonus Books), co-written by the late Sun-Timesman Eddie Gold.
Valli wanted to talk to Jurges about their "love affair." She pulled out a gun and winged Jurges in the buttocks and the left hand. The starting shortstop was on the disabled list the rest of the season. Valli also was wounded in the shooting, which she blamed on "too much gin."
Valli was a fellow resident of the Hotel Carlos, a popular hotel for Cubs players. According to news reports, police found a note in her room addressed to her brother that said, "Life without Billy isn't worth living, but why should I leave this earth alone? I'm going to take Billy with me." The letter was addressed to the Division Street YMCA -- you know, the same fun place the Village People sing about during Cubs games.
Judge John A. Sbarbaro dismissed the case "for want of prosecution," then added, "I hope no more Cubs get shot."
This chain of events partially inspired the 1952 Bernard Malamud novel The Natural, which became the hit 1984 movie featuring Robert Redford (see related story).
So I wanted to ask Jurges about the upcoming Cubs season, corporate greed and his favorite cabaret song (just kidding on the last one). With the help of Cubs historian Mike Reischl and Sun-Times religion columnist Cathleen Falsani, I contacted Lyons medium Rik Kristinat. The folks at the Sheffield House allowed us to use Room 509 for an hour. Reischl brought a bright green bottle of Tanqueray London Dry Gin.
And Kristinat channeled Jurges.
"If a spirit has a connection with the place he should be more willing to come," Kristinat said in the lobby before the seance. Kristinat already was picking up vibes. I had only told Kristinat that I wanted to talk to "Billy," a Cub who had been shot. Nothing else.
"I want to say it was the left hand because that's where I'm feeling," Kristinat said. Then he added, "It's all vibrations. As solid as we are, our molecules are always moving. Everywhere we walk we are in someone else's vibrations, leaving ours, moving on. I am also smelling lily of the valley. I know there was a woman involved. Sometimes when that happens, her name could be Rose or Scarlet."
I was impressed.
Kristinant, 52, has been a medium since he was 9. His father was one, too. A medium works with spirits. A psychic predicts things. "My grandmother used to have seances at her house [in Dyer, Ind.] with a trumpet," he said. "The tin trumpet is the cone cylinder they used to get voices out of."
Former Cubs third baseman Carmen Fanzone also played the trumpet. Amazing.
Kristinant felt more vibrations once he was in Room 509. The Sheffield House was built in the 1920s. Many Chicagoans think it's an SRO, but hotel manager Al Vergara said rooms are available for anyone. At rates between $32 and $60, it's not a bad idea if you overimbibe after a Cubs game.
The 105-room hotel still has its terra cotta entrance and arched marble hallway. "Hard-core Cubs fans come here asking about the incident," Vergara said. "A few people know about 509."
Jurges predicted good things for the Cubs if they remain grounded. Kristinant closed his eyes and said, "If they love the game, they'll win; if they don't, they won't. I'm asking who should love the game. He growls. He's worried about an attitude change. Maybe it's the Tribune Co. They played for love because they didn't win. Did he almost win? Was he one game away?"
The New York Yankees beat the Cubs 4 games to none in the 1932 World Series.
Kristinant said he was hearing a Bronx accent. Jurges was born in the Bronx. "I keep feeling he was dirt poor, pushing a product," Kristinant said. Reischl turned to Page 145 of The Golden Era Cubs and read, "Jurges had a horse and cart and worked as a delivery boy for a grocery." Kristinant also felt alcohol in the room and said, "It was the kind that burns your throat. Was it moonshine?" Reischl revealed his bottle of gin, which he had kept hidden in a brown paper bag.
Lou Piniella should hire Kristinant as his spiritual adviser.
"I'm really feeling Billy's vibrations," Kristinant continued as his voice sped up. "I'm looking down at the diamond and I want to say he played in the center -- shortstop or second base. I'm talking fast because I know he's talking to me. He says not to worry until the All-Star break. Love will come in right around there. He's mad right now. Just talking about money [ticks] Billy off.
"Things will be all right this year if they play for love."
