An aspiring footballer's broken leg was the cue to rekindle his passion for darts. Little did he know, the star would go on to become a world champion, a founding member of the PDC, and one of the most recognisable faces on the circuit in the late 20th century.

But Bob Anderson's career might have been so different had he avoided some serious bad luck with injuries. A highly-rated athlete in his youth, he seemed destined for a career in sport. As a teenager, he was selected as a javelin thrower for the British Olympic Team ahead of the 1968 Games in Mexico. However, ahead of flying out to compete, Anderson suffered a broken arm which ended his javelin career.

That misfortune with injuries continued throughout Anderson's life. In 1970, he had been a keen footballer and played to a decent standard with Lincoln United, Guildford City, Woking and Farnborough Town when a broken leg curtailed his career.

Anderson had played darts socially and it is claimed that he threw his first maximum at the age of only seven. After his football injury, the now 77-year-old decided to make a name for himself at the oche.

He was hugely successful in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. Anderson reached the peak of his career by winning the WDF World Professional Championship in 1988. His World Masters triumphs in 1986, 1987 and 1988 made him the first man in history to win the tournament in three consecutive years. That run coincided with him being the world No. 1 for three years.

In 1993, he became a founding member of the PDC and continued to compete at the top of the rankings with Eric Bristow.

The injuries did not stop even when Anderson took up darts and he had surgery to solve a chronic back problem in 1990. He later quipped: "I don't think there is anywhere else for them to operate."

Anderson reached the semi-finals of the PDC in 2004 and 2005 before retiring his PDC membership in 2008. He continues to play darts and, in the interim years, some fans even speculated that he could return to the tour.

He told in 2016: "No regrets. I still love playing the game and I'm still pretty good! As long as it gives me pleasure and it's entertaining for the people who come and watch, then I shall carry on.

"People are always telling me that I could go back to the PDC and compete but no, it's not for me now. I am enjoying what I am doing too much and the endless travelling is one of the main reasons that I gave it all up in the first place.

"I am proud of what I achieved and proud to say that back in 1981, I started in the top 32 in the world and all those years later, I finished in the world's top 32."