Bill McCool (#597)

Bill McCool was in his last season as a Cincinnati Red in 1968, and is shown on the next-to-last card in the set.

Signed by the Reds in 1963, he came up in April 1964, and was named to the Topps All-Rookie team that year.

Bill played from 1964-1970, wrapping up his career with the Padres (’69) and Cardinals (’70). He was almost exclusively a reliever, although he did start 1/3 of his games in 1967.

McCool led the Reds in saves in 1965 (21) and 1966 (18), and made the All-Star team in '66.  In 1967 he took a back seat to the newly-acquired Ted Abernathy.

The June 1968 acquisition of Clay Carroll from the Braves pushed McCool further down on the bullpen depth chart, and by season’s end he was left unprotected in the expansion draft.

The Padres selected him in the draft, and he led the new team in saves (a whopping 7!) in their first season.

He was traded to the Cardinals in April 1970, splitting that season between St Louis and their AAA team. It was his last year in the majors.

Between October 1970 and February 1971 Bill was traded twice – first to the Red Sox and then to the Royals, but he played for neither team.

He spent his final season (1971) with the triple-A affiliates of the Royals and Twins.

McCool passed away in 2014 at age 69.