and a 3.27 earned run average as the Braves won the National League pennant and advanced to the 1948 World Series against the Cleveland Indians. In his only World Series appearance, he started Game 3, where he gave up one run on four hits in 3.1 innings pitched and was charged with the loss. 1949–50 In 1949, Bickford went 16–11 with a 4.25 earned run average and made the National League All-Star team. He finished seventh in the league in complete games (15) and third in games started (36) behind teammate Warren Spahn and Ken Raffensberger of the Cincinnati Reds. He lost a no-hitter in the ninth inning in one of those games. At season's end Bickford, alongside Spahn and teammate Johnny Sain created one of the most formidable pitching trios in the league for the next several years. His best season statistical-wise came in , when he went 19–14 with a 3.47 earned run average and led the National League in games started (39), complete games (27), innings pitched (311.2) and batters faced (1,325). He also finished eighth in the league with 126 strikeouts. The high point of his career was his 7–0 no-hitter against the Brooklyn Dodgers on August 11, the first no-hitter in the Major Leagues since Rex Barney threw one for Brooklyn in 1948, and the first one for the Braves since Jim Tobin in 1944. He retired the first 10 batters before walking Gene Hermanski in the fourth inning. Overall, he walked four batters, and Duke Snider hit into a double play to end the game. Afterwards, Bickford stated that "all he wanted was the game". His no-hitter helped stay the Braves in the pennant race, falling five games behind the Philadelphia Phillies. However the Braves faltered and finished fourth with an 83–79 record, eight games behind the Phillies in the standings. Bickford struggled near the end of the year, falling short in his six games in an attempt to record a 20 win season. Later career 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