‘The Patriot’ Del Wilkes passes away at 59 due to heart attack

Del Wilkes, best known to wrestling fans as “The Patriot,” passed away Thursday at 59 years old due to what was described as a massive heart attack.

He had been retired from wrestling since 1997 and moved into car sales post-retirement.

A former University of South Carolina offensive lineman and one of only four All-Americans in school history, Wilkes’ wrestling career began in 1988 after a failed attempt at making the NFL. He worked in the AWA under both his real name and later The Trooper, a policeman character that would write tickets for his opponents. He held the Tag Team titles one time with D.J. Peterson.

Adorned in a mask with a bald eagle and sporting the colors of the American flag, Wilkes started the Patriot character while in Global Wrestling in 1991 — a character that would become his trademark. While in a short stint there, he held both their North American and TV titles.

He wrestled a handful of matches in the then-WWF in 1991-92 before heading to overseas to work with All Japan Pro Wrestling. After a short stint, he came back stateside to work in WCW from 1994-95, holding the Tag Team titles with Marcus Alexander Bagwell. He then returned to All Japan for three more years before returning to the WWF to oppose Bret Hart’s anti-American character as part of another short run.

Wilkes’ post-wrestling career included a painkiller addiction and nine months in prison for forging a prescription. Wilkes said he had used both steroids and cocaine during both his college football career and pro wrestling career.

Our Antonio Thomas talked with Wilkes in 2019 about his college football career.