page_title: Vern Bickford
section_title: Later career
hierarchical_section_title: Vern Bickford / Major League career / Later career
caption_attribution_description: English: 1954 Bowman Baseball card of Vern Bickford of the Milwaukee Braves card number #176. PD-not-renewed.
context_page_description: Vernon Edgell Bickford was an American professional baseball player. A right-handed starting pitcher, he played six seasons in Major League Baseball for the Boston/Milwaukee Braves from 1948 to 1953 in the National League, and one game for the Baltimore Orioles of the American League in 1954.
  Bickford was born in Kentucky but raised in West Virginia. He began his professional career in 1939 and, after serving in World War II, made the majors in 1949. Acquired by the Braves organization due to a flip of a coin, Bickford became one of the most promising National League pitchers during his playing career, earning All-Star honors in 1949 and leading the National League in complete games in 1950. However his career was soon shorted by multiple arm injuries, and he was out of baseball by 1955. After working an assortment of jobs, he was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 1960 and died after a three-month illness.
  He is best known for throwing a no-hitter against the Brooklyn Dodgers on August 11, 1950.
context_section_description: In 1951, he had an 11–9 win-loss record with a career low 3.12 earned run average in 25 games. His 3.12 earned run average was good for eighth in the league. However, Bickford broke a finger in 1951 after being hit by a line drive, missed most of the final three months of the season and never regained his prior form. In 1952, he was 7–12 with a 3.74 earned run average in 26 games, 22 of them starts. He played for the Braves when the team moved to Milwaukee before the 1953 season; however, he suffered from bone spurs in his pitching arm. During the 1953 season, Bickford had a 2–5 win-loss record with a 5.28 earned run average.
  In 1954, Bickford was sold to the Baltimore Orioles for an undisclosed amount of cash and catcher Charlie White. The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox were both interested in Bickford's services, but general manager John Quinn decided to go with Baltimore's offer. He only played one game, a start against the Chicago White Sox on April 24. He gave up five runs, four of them earned, in four innings before being credited with the 14–4 loss. A pinched nerve in his throwing arm and eventual elbow surgery shortened his career. In 1955, he unsuccessfully tried a brief comeback with the Triple-A Richmond Virginians in the International League. He pitched in nine games before retiring due to complications of his arm injuries.
caption: Bickford in 1954, prior to being traded to the Baltimore Orioles.
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