Vernon Edgell Bickford (August 17, 1920 – May 6, 1960) was an American professional baseball player. A right-handed starting pitcher, he played six seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) 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. Although the slogan "Spahn and Sain, then two days of rain" is today widely mentioned when reference is made to the Braves' 1948 season, at the time it was actually, "Bickford, Spahn and Sain and then we pray for rain." His winning percentage of .688 that year, his rookie season, in which he did not really begin to pitch until well into the season, was higher than either that of Sain or Spahn. Early life Bickford was born in Hellier, Kentucky and raised in Berwind, West Virginia. He began playing semi-professional baseball in 1939 for a local West Virginian team, before signing with the Welch Minors of the Class-D Mountain State League the same year. He served three years in the armed forces during World War II where he later claimed "helped" improve his career, as he got pitching tips from several professional Major League ballplayers. Minor league career Bickford was groomed to be a relief pitcher in minor league baseball and played four seasons with the Welch Minors before going off to fight in World War II. He came back to the Braves system in 1946 where he played for the Jackson Senators of the Southeastern League, where he had a 10–12 win–loss record with a 3.33 earned run average (ERA), and one game with the Hartford Chiefs of the Eastern