Miguel Ángel Delgado Reyes (August 28, 1947 – February 7, 1983) was a Mexican ''

Luchador Lucha libre (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term used in Latin America for professional wrestling. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form ...

'', or

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

that wrestled under the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...

''El Cobarde'' (Spanish for "The Coward"). Delgado was born and died in

Ciudad Juarez Ciudad () is the Spanish word for City Ciudad may also refer to: *La Ciudad (archaeological site), Hohokam ruins in Phoenix, Arizona *La Ciudad, district of Durango City, Mexico *''La ciudad'', novel by Mario Levrero 1970 *La Ciudad ''The City'' ...

Personal life

Miguel Ángel Delgado was a second-generation wrestler, son of the original Dr. X and the brother of wrestlers "Impostor" (later known as El Cobarde II) and "Legendario" He was the uncle of wrestlers Hijo del Cobarde, El Cobarde, Jr. and Impostor, Jr.

Professional wrestling career

El Cobarde was one of the first ''luchadors'' to travel and perform in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

where he would compete in a number of matches, including unsuccessfully challenging for the

NWA World Heavyweight Championship The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professional wrestling promotion. The current champion is Tyrus, who is in ...

. He lost his mask in a ''

Luchas de Apuestas Lucha libre (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term used in Latin America for professional wrestling. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form ...

'' ("Bet match") against his lifelong friend Fishman who he had originally trained at the start of Fishman's career. After the loss of his mask he remained with

Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as ''Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre'' (''EMLL'') (''Mexi ...

(EMLL), turning from ''

rudo Rudo ( sr-cyrl, Рудо) is a town and municipality located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 7,963 inhabitants, while the town of Rudo has a population of 1,949 inhabitants. It is f ...

'' (people who portray the bad guy characters in wrestling) to a '' tecnico'' ("Good guy") and receiving standing ovations from crowds across Mexico, but especially in

, having become a "national idol".

Death and legacy

After losing his mask, Delgado struggled to stay in a prominent position, he eventually left the scene after learning he had

Leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

. He died on February 7, 1983, from the disease. After his death his brother Francisco (who had wrestled as El Impostor up until this point) took over the ''El Cobarde'' ring persona and mask, becoming "El Cobarde II". The Cobarde II character spawned two different wrestlers working under the ring name "El Cobarde, Jr.", one the brother of El Cobarde (I and II) while the other was the son of El Cobarde II, another son wrestled under the names Hijo del Cobarde ("Son of El Cobarde").

Championships and accomplishments

Universal Wrestling Association The Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) was a Mexican ''Lucha Libre'' or professional wrestling promotion based in Naucalpan, Mexico State that operated from 1975 until 1995. The name of the actual promotion was Lucha Libre Internacional (LLI) ...

UWA World Light Heavyweight Championship The UWA World Light Heavyweight Championship (''Campeonato Mundial Semi Completo de UWA'' in Spanish) is a singles professional wrestling championship initially promoted by the Mexican Lucha Libre wrestling based promotion Universal Wrestling As ...

( 1 time) *Northern Mexico Middleweight Championship (1 time) *Northern Mexico Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Golden Boy

''Luchas de Apuestas'' record

Notes

References

{{UWA World Light Heavyweight Championship 1947 births 1983 deaths Mexican male professional wrestlers People from Ciudad Juárez Professional wrestlers from Chihuahua (state) Deaths from leukemia Deaths from cancer in Mexico 20th-century professional wrestlers UWA World Light Heavyweight Champions