Vern Bickford

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1948-1954)

W–L 66–57
ERA 3.71
WHIP 1.40
SO 450
Pitcher PIV 3148.0
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'0" / 180 lb
Born
8/17/1920 in Hellier, KY, USA
Died
5/6/1960 in Richmond, VA, USA
MLB Debut
1948-04-24
Last Game
1954-04-24
Awards
All-Star

Full name: Vernon Edgell Bickford

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Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
66 57 182 149 73 9 2 1076.3 1,040 444 76 467 450 3.71 3148.0

Career ERA 3.71 vs. league average 4.05 across their career seasons — 8.4% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1948 BSN NL 11 5 33 22 10 1 1 146.0 125 53 63 60 3.27 4.10 (+20%) -21.6
1949 BSN NL 16 11 37 36 15 2 0 230.7 246 109 106 101 4.25 4.12 (-3%) -583.5
1950 BSN NL 19 14 40 39 27 2 0 311.7 293 120 122 126 3.47 4.36 (+20%) 2565.0
1951 BSN NL 11 9 25 20 12 3 0 164.7 146 57 76 76 3.12 4.04 (+23%) 1863.5
1952 BSN NL 7 12 26 22 7 1 0 161.3 165 67 64 62 3.74 3.70 (-1%) 1207.6
1953 ML1 NL 2 5 20 9 2 0 1 58.0 60 34 35 25 5.28 4.14 (-28%) -1883.1
1954 BAL AL 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 4.0 5 4 1 0 9.00 — 0.0
Career · 7 seasons 66 57 182 149 73 9 2 1,076.1 1,040 444 467 450 3.71 — 3,148

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
182 365 23 57 4 0 0 28 0 10 85 .156 .179 .167 .346 -2,914

Career AVG .156 vs. league average .262 across their career seasons — 40.3% below league average.

Career OBP .179 vs. league average .338 across their career seasons — 47.1% below league average.

Career SLG .167 vs. league average .387 across their career seasons — 56.8% below league average.

Career OPS .346 vs. league average .724 across their career seasons — 52.2% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1948 BSN NL 33 49 3 10 2 0 0 7 0 2 12 .204 — — — — -267.0
1949 BSN NL 37 81 7 15 0 0 0 8 0 2 20 .185 .262 (-30%) .343 (-40%) .384 (-52%) .727 (-46%) -608.9
1950 BSN NL 40 116 9 16 0 0 0 6 0 3 24 .138 .265 (-48%) .346 (-54%) .401 (-66%) .747 (-60%) -1154.6
1951 BSN NL 25 52 1 6 1 0 0 4 0 2 12 .115 .260 (-56%) .336 (-56%) .385 (-65%) .721 (-61%) -510.7
1952 BSN NL 26 51 2 9 1 0 0 3 0 0 9 .176 .252 (-30%) .326 (-46%) .369 (-47%) .696 (-46%) -373.0
1953 ML1 NL 20 15 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 .067 — — — — 0.0
1954 BAL AL 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 7 seasons 182 365 23 57 4 0 0 28 0 10 85 .156 — — — — -2,914

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1948 WS BSN 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 1 1 1 0 3.3 4 1 5 1 2.70

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1948 WS BSN 0 1 1 1 0 3.3 4 1 5 1 2.70

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (364 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home911801230017.167
Away911851127012.146

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home91592.05382142462593.25
Away91485.15042322211944.30

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1954-04-24 BALCHWL 100000001
1953-09-07 ATLCHCL 000000000
1953-09-05 ATLSTLL 000000000
1953-08-25 ATLPHIL 000000000
1953-08-23 ATLCHCL 000000000
1953-08-16 ATLCHCW 000000000
1953-08-07 ATLPITW 311000011
1953-07-31 ATLPHIL 000000000
1953-07-25 ATLBROL 000000000
1953-07-22 ATLPHIL 000000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1954-04-24 BALCHW L 4.0554100
1953-09-07 ATLCHC — 2.0000100
1953-09-05 ATLSTL — 1.0311001
1953-08-25 ATLPHI — 1.0222110
1953-08-23 ATLCHC — 3.0411010
1953-08-16 ATLCHC — 0.2311101
1953-08-07 ATLPIT W 9.0522620
1953-07-31 ATLPHI — 3.0200050
1953-07-25 ATLBRO — 1.0000100
1953-07-22 ATLPHI — 0.1000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 182 1 68 202 6 19

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1948 BSN P 33 0 6 22 1 0
1949 BSN P 37 0 7 50 1 3
1950 BSN P 40 0 26 45 2 5
1951 BSN P 25 0 14 38 1 4
1952 BSN P 26 0 12 32 1 4
1953 ML1 P 20 0 3 14 0 3
1954 BAL P 1 1 0 1 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 182

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1950 Most Valuable Player NL 30th 4.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Vern Bickford (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Al Javery
    53-74, 3.80 ERA
  2. 94
    Steve McCatty
    63-63, 3.99 ERA
  3. 88
    Bill McGee
    46-41, 3.74 ERA
  4. 87
    Atley Donald
    65-33, 3.52 ERA
  5. 85
    Orval Grove
    63-73, 3.78 ERA
  6. 83
    Elmer Riddle
    65-52, 3.40 ERA

Frequently Asked Questions about Vern Bickford

What years did Vern Bickford play?
Vern Bickford played in Major League Baseball from 1948 to 1954.
Was Vern Bickford a pitcher?
Yes. Vern Bickford pitched in the major leagues, recording 66 wins and 450 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Vern Bickford hit?
Vern Bickford hit 0 career home runs with 57 hits.