"Spahn and Sain", commonly referred to as "Pray for Rain", is a poem by Gerald V. Hern, published in The Boston Post on September 14, 1948. The poem was an ode to Boston Braves pitchers Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain who were both considered to be the team's best pitchers and who won a combined 212 games as teammates.
Background In 1948, the Boston Braves won what turned out to be their final pennant during their tenure at Boston, behind the pitching of future Hall of Famer Warren Spahn and his teammate Johnny Sain. The remainder of the rotation was seemingly so thin that in September, Boston Post writer Gerald Hern wrote a poem about the pair:
First we'll use Spahn then we'll use Sain Then an off day followed by rain Back will come Spahn followed by Sain And followed we hope by two days of rain.
The poem received such a wide audience that the sentiment, usually now paraphrased as "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain" or "Spahn and Sain, then pray for rain"Bill Gutman (for hire by Brompton Books Corp.), The Golden Age of Baseball: 1941–1964 (as on book spine and dust jacket) / The Golden Age of Baseball: 1941–1963 (as in book interior), New York / Hong Kong: W. H. Smith Publishers / Gallery Books, 1989, p. 62., is now considered a part of baseball lore.
References
External links Spahn & Sain at Baseball Almanac