Robin Bell Dodson (; born May 30, 1956) is a former professional billiards player.

Early life and career

Dodson was born on May 30, 1956 in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

as Robin Hansen. Her father, Roderick Wayne Hansen, a commercial baker, played pool and gambled. When Dodson was three years old, her parents separated and her mother, Helen Hansen, settled in

Westminster, California Westminster is a city in western Orange County, California, United States. Westminster was founded in 1870 by Rev. Lemuel Webber as a Presbyterian Temperance movement, temperance colony and was incorporated in 1957. Westminster is bordered by ...

, alongside her two sisters. Her mother worked two factory jobs, only coming home to make dinner. The family lived in an

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusi ...

. Dodson started playing

pinball Pinball games are a family of games in which a ball is propelled into a specially designed table where it bounces off various obstacles, scoring points either en route or when it comes to rest. Historically the board was studded with nails call ...

and learned to play billiards when she was 12. By the time she was 13, she would hitchhike to pool halls at night. Dodson dropped out of Westminster High School during her freshman year. She won the California Women's State Championship at the age of 16 and continued to win for the next two consecutive years. During this time, Dodson suffered from drug addiction, having smoked

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

and taking various

depressants Depressants, also known as central nervous system depressants, or colloquially known as "downers", are drugs that lower neurotransmission levels, decrease the electrical activity of brain cells, or reduce arousal or stimulation in various ar ...

, PCP, and

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD (from German ; often referred to as acid or lucy), is a semisynthetic, hallucinogenic compound derived from ergot, known for its powerful psychological effects and serotonergic activity. I ...

. She later moved into her older sister's residence, which she described as a "hardcore

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

environment". Dodson was arrested twice but never went to jail. In 1977, she and her firstborn son moved into the Harvest House, a Christian homeless shelter in

Santa Ana, California Santa Ana (Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, California, United States. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census. As ...

. After a long break, she began to play again in 1984. Between 1984 and 1998, Dodson won various major tournaments, including the National Championships and the WPA World 9-Ball Championships. She was inducted into the BCA Hall of Fame in 2005.

Personal life

Dodson is a

born again Christian To be born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelical Christianity, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is d ...

. She has struggled with drug addiction, including heroin. Dodson received her GED in 2001. Dodson has six children, including actor and musician

Drake Bell Jared Drake Bell (born June 27, 1986) is an American actor and musician. Born in Newport Beach, California, he began his career as a child actor in the 1990s, appearing on ''Home Improvement (TV series), Home Improvement'' (1994) and in severa ...

. She was married to Joe Bell, who worked as a

swimming pool service technician A swimming pool service technician is a person who maintains swimming pools, including keeping the water clean and safe by fixing pool equipment such as pumps, motors and water filters. Description Pool and spa service technicians provide servic ...

whom she later divorced. Her second and current husband is Roy Dodson whom she married on July 30, 1995.

Select titles & achievements

* 1973 Southern California State 9-Ball * 1974 California State 14.1 Championship * 1990 B.C. Open 9-Ball Pro-Am Doubles * 1990

WPA World Nine-ball Championship The WPA World Nine-ball Championship is an annual professional nine-ball pool tournament contested since 1990. The championship is sanctioned by the World Pool Association (WPA) and principally sponsored and organized by Matchroom Sport, who pro ...

* 1991

* 1992 WPBA U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship * 1994 Gordan's Hotshot Championship * 1995 WPBA Gordans 9-Ball Championship * 1995 WPBA Kasson Atlanta Classic * 1998 BCA Twin Cities Classic * 2005

Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame This is the list of people inducted into the Billiard Congress of America's hall of fame to honor outstanding people who, through their competitive skills and dedication, have enriched the sport and industry. Two categories have been established in ...

* 2009 WPBA Hall of Fame

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dodson, Robin Bell 1956 births Living people American pool players Drake Bell World champions in pool American Christians