1966 Topps #459 Bill McCool
About Bill McCool
McCool opened 1966 in dominant form, allowing just three runs over his first 28 innings, and finished with a team-leading 2.48 ERA, 18 saves and 104 strikeouts in 105 1/3 innings while earning his only All-Star selection. Card 459 comes from the sixth series, reflecting how far into that year's print run it was issued.
Billy McCool broke into the majors as a hard-throwing 19-year-old lefty reliever for the Cincinnati Reds in 1964, striking out veteran hitters with a fastball teammates called sneaky-fast. That rookie season he was named The Sporting News National League Rookie Pitcher of the Year, going 6-5 with seven saves. He anchored the Reds bullpen for the next several seasons, finishing second in the league in saves in both 1965 and 1966 and earning an All-Star selection in 1966. A knee injury suffered late in 1966, followed by elbow and shoulder trouble, derailed his push to become a starter and shortened what had looked like a rising career. He pitched a final season each with the San Diego Padres in 1969 and the St. Louis Cardinals in 1970 before retiring at 25. Over seven seasons he went 32-42 with 58 saves and a 3.59 ERA. After baseball he worked as a Dayton television sports anchor and later wrote a pitching instruction book. He died in 2014.
Sources: SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 316 | 1 | 60 | 178 | 50 | 14 | 7 | 6 | 0 |
| SGC | 13 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Data as of 2026-09-04. Half grades fold down for both graders (8.5→8); PSA qualified slabs (OC, ST, PD, MC and the like) are not counted. Where SGC registers no separate row for a variation state, its slabs of that card are listed under the base state.
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Related cards
Team card: #59 Cincinnati Reds
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- #119 Art Shamsky
- #140 Jim Maloney
- #159 Chico Ruiz
- #180 Vada Pinson
- #196 Don Pavletich
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- #219 National League 1965 RBI Leaders
- #233 Dom Zanni
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1966 Topps #459 card?
It is card #459 of the 598-card 1966 Topps Baseball set, picturing Bill McCool of the Cincinnati Reds.
Why is #459 harder to find?
It is from the sixth print series, #447-522 - noticeably tougher than the first five. Nothing in #447-522 is short-printed.
How many cards are in the 1966 Topps Baseball set?
598 cards, tracked as 613 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 598 with no gaps and no number used twice, and 14 cards carry catalogued print variations - five checklists, the trade and sold statement backs, the three-state #43 Don Landrum, three team-card dot pairs and the #161 Jerry Lumpe white streak - that the master set counts separately.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, Cardboard Connection, Baseball Almanac, Baseball-Reference, the SABR BioProject and the National Baseball Hall of Fame, PSA & SGC population reports. Card data compiled and maintained by T206Cards.com. Page last updated 2026-10-11.