INDIANAPOLIS – Rest easy, Billy McCool fans.

After some crossed wires in attempting to contact the former Cincinnati Reds National League Rookie Pitcher of the Year (1964) and NL All-Star (1966), McCool, now 68 and retired in Summerfield, Fla., for the past eight years, made it to Indianapolis in plenty of time for his induction as the 163rd member of the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame Friday.

“It was a real surprise,” said Lawrenceburg's most famous lefthander, a 1962 LHS graduate, whose off-the-cuff acceptance speech paid tribute to the legendary Pat O'Neill, his former baseball and Indiana Football Hall of Fame coach.

“Basically, this award isn't about me so much,” said McCool, articulate and well-spoken as ever, during evening ceremonies at the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center at Keystone at the Crossing in Indy.