Butler County Genealogy Trails Kansas Bil Betz

BUTLER COUNTY'S EIGHTY YEARS BIOS

BILL BETZ – CHAMPION

(Transcribed by Peggy Luce)

The state shoot was held at Wichita this week and many mighty Nimrods were there. But the name of William F. (Bill) Betz, of El Dorado – like that of Abou Ben Adam – led all the rest.

Bill Betz is the son of Bill Betz and comes from a straight-shooting tribe. There is no difficulty in El Dorado in distinguishing between Betz pere and Betz fils. Young Bill is bigger than Old Bill but both are bluff, hearty men. Old Bill has a golf complex and can make a hard rubber ball talk in nineteen languages, including the Scandinavian. Young Bill takes’em at the traps and when he bears down with his shootin’ irons on the clay pigeons, the dust is sure to fly. Bill refused to be awed by the prowess of the Etchens and the Clarks and other giants of the shooting clan at Wichita. After three were tied with 199 out of 200 targets, Bill stepped out and broke 25 straight in order to become state singles champion.

It’s a great day for the Betz family and likewise for El Dorado. State champions in any sports are few and to produce one from such high-grade competition at the traps brings its own sense of satisfaction. The Betzes are straight shooters and square shooters and Young Bill is a worthy scion of the house. Our congratulations to him on this victory, coupled with the wish that his eye may always be true and his trigger finger steady. – May 22, 1929