#18 Bill McCool - Cincinnati Reds

William John McCool
Cincinnati Reds
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  195
Born:  July 14, 1944, Batesville, IN
Signed:  Signed by the Cincinnati Reds as an amateur free agent before 1963 season
Major League Teams:  Cincinnati Reds 1964-1968; San Diego Padres 1969; St. Louis Cardinals 1970
Died:  June 8, 2014, Summerfield, FL (age 69)

Billy McCool was a successful closer for the Reds for three seasons at the start of his career, and served as one of the more reliable relievers for the expansion Padres in their first season towards the end of his career.  He pitched for seven seasons, compiling a lifetime record of 32-42 over 292 games, with a 3.59 ERA and 58 career saves.  He was named The Sporting News N.L. Rookie Pitcher of the Year in 1964, the same year he was named the left-handed pitcher on the Topps All-Star Rookie Team.  His best season came in his All-Star season of 1966 when he saved 18 games and had a 2.48 ERA.  He finished in second place for saves among N.L. relievers in both 1965 and 1966.

McCool was an original Padre, and the franchise's first closer, selected from the Reds in the 1968 expansion draft.  He played in the Cardinals, Twins and Royals systems in 1970 and 1971 before retiring from baseball at the age of 26.

February 2020 - Greg Morris Cards auction wins

Building the Set
February 13, 2020 from Los Angeles, CA - Card #51

eBay can be a dangerous place during long work days in the winter, and on a long work day in early February I found myself once again browsing through listings from a 1965 Topps set break from Greg Morris Cards.  I again bid on 20 cards, placing my maximum bid on each of the 20 and then vowing not to go back and increase my bid if someone else came in over me.  I stuck to my vow, and came away with another 11 new cards for our set, including this McCool card.  I didn't track my original minimum bids, but I won this card for $1.11.

The Card
McCool shared a Rookie Stars card with Chico Ruiz (#554) in the 1964 Topps set, and this is his first solo card.  The back of his card features a cartoon highlighting his high school football days.  McCool was indeed a high school football star for Lawrenceburg High School and in 2013 he was elected into the Indiana High School Hall of Fame.  McCool made the jump from Single-A to Triple-A in 1963, making his Major League debut on April 24, 1964 at the age of 19.  I have to give credit to whoever at Topps authored the back, casually mentioning McCool was successful by "staying cool in tense situations."  Well done.

Reds Team Set

1965 Season
McCool appeared in a career high 62 games for the Reds, by far the tops among any Reds pitchers.  Starting pitcher Sammy Ellis (#507) was second on the team in appearances with 44.  McCool saved 21 games, also a career high, and had a 4.27 ERA.  His ERA would have fared better if not for a few bad outings in August and September, one of which resulted in him giving up four earned runs in a third of an inning.

1964 Topps #356

1966 Topps #459

1967 Topps #353

1968 Topps #597

1970 Topps #314

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1964 Topps #356
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7):  1964-1970
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1981 TCMA The 1960s I #351

40 - McCool non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/15/20.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

In some cases, the first and last cards listed above are subjective and chosen by me if multiple cards were released within the same year.  Most recent mainstream card may also be subjective and does not include extremely low serial numbered cards, buybacks or cut autograph cards.

Prior Card:  #17 Johnny Romano - Cleveland Indians

Next Card:  #19 Gates Brown - Detroit Tigers