The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Wrestling star was big in Japan
Former US professional wrestling star and University of South Carolina football All-American, Del Wilkes, has died at the age of 59 after a massive heart attack.
One of only four consensus All-American football players in history – George Rogers, Melvin Ingram and Jadeveon Clowney are the others – Wilkes bolstered an offensive line that in 1984 helped set school records for touchdowns (49), points (371) and total offence (5,095 yards).
Heavily recruited as an offensive lineman at Columbia’s Irmo High School, Wilkes was USC’s most decorated player in 1984 when the Gamecocks finished 10-2.
Wilkes broke into the wrestling business in 1988 following a failed attempt in the NFL. The Columbia native found a wrestling school not far from his home.
It was run by legendary women’s wrestling star The Fabulous Moolah (Lillian Ellison), who had been responsible for training the majority of women wrestlers during the ’60s and ’70s.
“It was geared more toward women than it was guys,” said Wilkes. “But we paid our money and went through the school and basically started out at the very bottom level of pro wrestling.”
As The Patriot, he became a top international star, especially in Japan, where fans loved his sculpted physique and colourful mask.
Wilkes retired in the late 1990s due to injury.
He is not in the University of South Carolina athletics Hall of Fame after serving nine months in prison in 2002-03 after several charges of fraudulently obtaining prescription painkillers.
Wilkes was arrested 20 times in and around Columbia from 1998 to 2007 while trying to support what became a 150 pills-a-day habit.
He had worked for the past 16 years as a car salesman.
“Del Wilkes would become a name that those in college football knew quite well,” said pastor Andy McDaniel, who hosted a podcast with Wilkes. “He would make his name familiar in the world of pro wrestling.
“Del overcame his struggles in this life and became an inspiration to many.”