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Friends aim to remember Bob Bettis with annual dart tournament

The Arkansas Dart Association held the 5th annual Bob Bettis Classic, which drew more than 100 players from across the state

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — In Arkansas darts, Bob Bettis was larger than life.

"I had just started throwing, I was a new thrower," said Dawn Rollins, "and to me, he was an icon."

A central figure in dart tournaments throughout Arkansas, Bettis passed away in 2014 after a battle with cancer.

But those who knew him and played alongside him, are making sure his legacy lives in on, in events like the Bob Bettis Classic.

"He did so much for darts in Arkansas," said his friend, Michael Henderson. "He made it more friendly, more popular. And to continue darts in Arkansas, the spirit of this tournament, that's why we named it after him."

Everyone who knew Bob Bettis said that he was a heck of dart player.

"He was a mentor, he was a mentor, he was an ally, he was an adversary," Henderson said with a laugh. Then he added, "he was just a wonderful human."

His former teammate, Rickey Canaday added, "He was a good guy, he helped anybody and everybody he could, it didn't make no different what it was. If you had problems, he would help you with them. He was just a great guy to travel and play darts with."

And although there is some slight disagreement about how Bettis would feel about having an entire tournament named after him, there is no debate that Bettis remains loved by all.

"He would come up and talk to anybody, if it was a stranger or not, it didn't make no difference," Canaday said. "If he wanted to talk to him, he would talk to them. He was just that kind of guy."

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