View source for Red McCombs

{{Short description|American businessman (1927–2023)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2017}}
{{Infobox person
| image = 
| birth_name = Billy Joe McCombs
| birth_date = {{birth date|1927|10|19}}
| birth_place = [[Spur, Texas]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2023|02|19|1927|10|19}}
| death_place = [[San Antonio, Texas]], U.S.
| spouse = {{marriage|Charline Hamblin|1950|2019|end=died}}
| children = 3
| relatives = 
| occupation=Businessman
|footnotes=
}}

'''Billy Joe''' '''"Red"''' '''McCombs''' (October 19, 1927<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.texasmonthly.com/story/business-%E2%80%A2-red-mccombs|title=Business • Red McCombs|work=Texas Monthly|date=January 20, 2013|access-date=January 14, 2017}}</ref> – February 19, 2023) was an American businessman. He was the founder of the Red McCombs Automotive Group in [[San Antonio, Texas]], a co-founder of [[iHeartMedia|Clear Channel Communications]], a past chairman of [[Constellis Group]], a onetime owner of the [[San Antonio Spurs]], [[San Antonio Force]], [[Denver Nuggets]], the [[Minnesota Vikings]], and the namesake of the [[McCombs School of Business]] at the [[University of Texas at Austin]].

In 2022, ''[[Forbes magazine|Forbes]]'' placed the value of McCombs' fortune at $1.7 billion.<ref>{{cite news |title=Forbes |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/billy-joe-red-mccombs/ |work=[[Forbes]]}}</ref>

==Early life==
McCombs was born in [[Rural area|rural]] [[Spur, Texas|Spur]] in [[Dickens County, Texas|Dickens County]] in [[West Texas]], United States.<ref>[http://www.mccombs.utexas.edu/news/mccombs/about/bio.asp Billy Joe "Red" McCombs] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041204211308/http://www.mccombs.utexas.edu/news/mccombs/about/bio.asp|date=December 4, 2004}}</ref> His nickname "Red" came from his hair color.<ref>[http://www.nsidesa.com/business/index.php?id=83&option=com_content&task=view NSIDE Business]. Nside Sa. Retrieved on 2013-08-16.</ref> His father was a mechanic who earned $25 per week but [[tithe]]d through the First [[Southern Baptist|Baptist Church]] of Spur each week. McCombs recalled having seen his parents "share with those who had less, and the joy of giving never ceased to amaze me."<ref name=donations>John Tedesco, "McCombs makes a lot and donates a lot", ''San Antonio Express-News'', November 26, 2015</ref>

== Business career ==
[[File:Red McCombs School of Business 2.jpeg|thumb|McCombs School of Business]]
In 1958, McCombs and his fellow salesman, Austin Hemphill, moved to San Antonio to create Hemphill-McCombs Ford, which was the foundation for what ultimately became the [http://redmccombs.com/ Red McCombs Automotive Group]. McCombs served as chairman of the trustees at [[Southwestern University]] and chairman of the University of Texas's [[MD Anderson Cancer Center|M.D. Anderson Cancer Center]] in Houston. His particular interest in M.D. Anderson was accentuated in 1986, when he visited a dying friend undergoing treatment there. He expressed how he was overcome by the kindness of every employee he met at the hospital. The workers, he found, had been trained to offer compassion and solace to all who come through the doors. He joined the Anderson board and in 2005 donated $30 million to the hospital.<ref name=donations/> The business school at the [[University of Texas at Austin]] was renamed the [[McCombs School of Business|Red McCombs School of Business]] in recognition of his $50 million donation to the institution. The $50 million actually yielded $100 million in matching funds for new faculty positions, fellowships, and scholarships.<ref name=donations/>

He was the board chairman of [[Academi]].<ref name="boardofdirectors">{{cite web|url=http://academi.com/pages/about-us/board-of-directors|title=Academi - About Us - Board of Directors|access-date=January 14, 2017}}</ref>

In 2017, McCombs filed a $1 million [[civil suit]] against seven of his former executives who he alleged took "trade secrets" from McCombs' company to begin a competing firm in Houston, F4 Resources. Defendants in the suit include William "Bill" Forney Jr., who worked with McCombs for forty-four years, former chief financial officer Ricky Halkin, vice president of operations Larry Wyont, vice president of land Charles Forney, and the vice president of geology, Philip Forney. McCombs had established McCombs Energy in Houston in 1998 by merging his 50 percent interest in his partnership with William Forney with other assets purchased from Forney. McCombs claimed that his former associates, however, lowered the proper payout that he was due from his investments. McCombs said that the former executives shattered personal relationships of some four decades.<ref name="pdanner">Patrick Danner, "McCombs sues ex-executives: Suit claims taking of trade secrets, greed", ''San Antonio Express-News'', April 1, 2017, pp. B5-B6.</ref>{{Update inline|date=February 2023|reason=What was the outcome?}}

==Sports ownership==
McCombs attributed the construction of the [[HemisFair Arena]] as the essential development to the success of the [[San Antonio Spurs]]. He contacted [[Lee Iacocca]], then president of the [[Ford Motor Company]], to seek funding for the arena to correspond with the [[1968 World's Fair]]. At first, Iacocca offered only $250,000 for the purchase of an art object, and he scolded McCombs and ridiculed San Antonio as "that little old dusty ass town of yours down there [with] no political or economic significance to the Ford Motor Company."<ref name="torsborn">Tom Orsborn, "There from Day One: McCombs recalls role as Spurs' founder", ''San Antonio Express-News'', December 25, 2016, pp. SP10-SP12</ref> McCombs persisted and asked [[U.S. President]] [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] to contact [[Henry Ford II]], and in a continued heated exchange even told Iacocca that Ford needed to improve the quality of its 1968 vehicles. McCombs located other investors, and the Dallas Chaparrals came to San Antonio five years later in 1973. McCombs realized the importance of [[television]] to sports events and saw the opportunity to bring San Antonio to a national stage. Under the McCombs administration, the Spurs had their first superstar in [[George Gervin]], called "The Iceman", who was recruited from the [[Virginia Squires]].<ref name="torsborn" />

Two years after taking the Spurs into the NBA, McCombs sold off his stake in the Spurs and bought another former ABA team, the [[Denver Nuggets]].  He held onto the team from 1978 until 1985, when he sold it to [[Sidney Shlenker]].<ref name="t794">{{cite web | title=Houston businessman Sidney Shlenker, who purchased the Denver Nuggets... | website=UPI | date=1985-05-30 | url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1985/05/30/Houston-businessman-Sidney-Shlenker-who-purchased-the-Denver-Nuggets/1402486273600/ | access-date=2024-10-15}}</ref> He then bought the Spurs in 1989 and ran them until he sold them in 1993. In 1998, McCombs bought the [[Minnesota Vikings]] for US$250 million. After an unsuccessful attempt to replace the [[Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome]], McCombs sold the team to new (and current) owner [[Zygi Wilf]] before the [[2005 NFL season]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/writers/michael_silver/10/27/vikings.mccombs/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051211001353/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/writers/michael_silver/10/27/vikings.mccombs/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 11, 2005 | work=CNN | date=2004-10-27 | access-date=2010-05-22 | title=L.A. story}}</ref> McCombs was also actively involved in [[thoroughbred]] racing and breeding for many years as a major partner in Walmac Farm, a leading American breeding farm, in [[Lexington, Kentucky|Lexington]], [[Kentucky]].<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/25/sports/horse-racing-risen-star-likely-to-retire-after-88.html | work=The New York Times | first=Steven | last=Crist | title=HORSE RACING; Risen Star Likely To Retire After '88 | date=1988-06-25}}</ref>

McCombs was one of the first investors of the [[Circuit of the Americas]]. In December 2020 he got his 'own' corner called 'Big Red'.<ref>[https://circuitoftheamericas.com/blog/2020/12/18/big-red/ CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS RENAMES ICONIC TURN ONE TO CELEBRATE ONE OF ITS FIRST INVESTORS, RED MCCOMBS]</ref>

==Controversy==
McCombs owned a piece of property surrounded by National Forest near [[Wolf Creek ski area]], a resort in southern [[Colorado]] owned by the Pitcher family. McCombs had long wanted to develop a resort community on his property, a plan that has drawn opposition and lawsuits from environmentalists and surrounding communities. McCombs had been unsuccessful in his attempts to convince the court to remove a key roadblock preventing his proposed development.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.denverpost.com/ci_8324523?source=rss | work=Denver Post | first=Judith | last=Kohler | title=Forest Service calls Wolf Creek deal a 'fresh start' | date=2008-02-21}}</ref> McCombs then attempted to build a {{convert|50000|acre|km2|adj=on}} casino resort at Navajo Canyon on [[Lake Powell]]. The local [[Navajo Nation]] chapters, local government officials, all unanimously rejected the casino proposal and any projects by McCombs.<ref>[http://www.gallupindependent.com/2009/01January/012909exoticlivestock.html Exotic livestock donated to Nation] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100203101423/http://www.gallupindependent.com/2009/01January/012909exoticlivestock.html|date=February 3, 2010}}</ref>

In 2013, McCombs was found by the [[United States Supreme Court]] to have engaged in a sham tax avoidance transaction and was therefore liable for a valuation misstatement penalty.<ref>https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/13pdf/12-562_k5fl.pdf {{Dead link|date=March 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-tax-mccombs-idUSL2N0JI0ZP20131203|title=US Supreme Court rules Texas billionaire owes tax shelter penalty|date=December 3, 2016|access-date=January 14, 2017|newspaper=Reuters}}</ref>

McCombs severely criticized the 2014 University of Texas hire of [[Charlie Strong]] as football coach. He described Strong as "great position coach ... not on a par with other candidates."<ref>[http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/eye-on-college-football/24401499/texas-booster-calls-charlie-strong-hire-a-kick-in-the-face A kick in the face]  www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/eye-on-college-football, 2014-01-07</ref> Three days later he apologized and pledged "total support" for Strong.<ref>[http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/eye-on-college-football/24404609/texas-booster-red-mccombs-apologizes-for-comments-on-strong-hire "Total Support"] www.cbssports.com/collegefootball, 2014-01-10</ref>

== Personal life and death ==
McCombs was a reformed [[alcoholic]], who could "handle his social drinking" until the age of 48, when overcome with convulsions he went into a five-day [[coma]] at a medical facility in [[Houston, Texas|Houston]]. McCombs said in a [[Christmas]] 2016 interview, "[[God]] was good to me and for whatever reason wanted me to live, because I was really dead when I left in 1975 to go to Houston on that medical plane. They told Charline, 'Go ahead and start making arrangements because we are losing him.'"<ref name="torsborn" /> McCombs said that he recovered and never again had a desire for alcohol.<ref name="torsborn" /> 

The McCombs Foundation has donated more than $118 million to charity. It is operated by his daughters, who work to keep overhead at a minimum. The foundation makes small donations too, such as $1,000 to [[Mothers Against Drunk Driving]], which are rarely publicized. McCombs had said that he was a large donor to charitable causes because "it makes me feel so good about doing it."<ref name="donations" />

McCombs contributed $40,000 to [[Donald Trump]]'s [[Donald Trump 2020 presidential campaign|2020 presidential campaign]].<ref name="Trump 2020 donors">{{Cite web |last=Tindera |first=Michela |date=February 19, 2021 |title=Here Are The Billionaires Who Donated To Donald Trump’s 2020 Presidential Campaign |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/michelatindera/2021/02/19/here-are-the-billionaires-who-donated-to-donald-trumps-2020-presidential-campaign/ |access-date=27 March 2024 |website=Forbes}}</ref>

McCombs was married to Charline Hamblin from 1950 until her death on December 12, 2019.<ref>{{cite web |date=December 12, 2019 |title=San Antonio treasure, Charline McCombs passes away |url=https://foxsanantonio.com/news/local/san-antonio-treasure-charline-mccombs-passes-away |website=FoxSanAntonio.com}}</ref> McCombs died at his home in San Antonio on February 19, 2023, at the age of 95.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Miller |first1=Ken |title=Former NBA, NFL team owner, businessman Red McCombs dies |url=https://apnews.com/article/san-antonio-spurs-nba-nfl-sports-obituaries-5c48bd8417b3c32901dd98a11be10d07 |access-date=February 20, 2023 |website=[[The Associated Press]]|date=February 20, 2023 }}</ref>

==Awards and honors==
*Texas Treasure Business Award for providing employment to Texas citizens<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thc.texas.gov/public/upload/preserve/TTBA/Files/1_2023_TTBA%20Awardees%20Up%20to%20Date.pdf |title=Texas Treasure Business Award Recipients |date=January 2023 |website=Texas.gov}}</ref> 
*Distinguished Alumnus of The University of Texas at Austin, Longhorn of the Year and the Southwestern University Distinguished Alumnus Award<ref>{{Cite web |title=Red McCombs, namesake of University of Texas business school, dies at 95 |url=https://www.statesman.com/story/news/education/2023/02/20/billy-joe-red-mccombs-university-texas-austin-business-school-dies-95/69924360007/ |first=Megan |last=Menchaca |date=2023-02-20 |website=Austin American-Statesman |language=en-US}}</ref>
*San Antonio Citizenship Award and induction into San Antonio Business, Texas, Texas Philanthropy, and San Antonio Sports Halls of Fame<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.toledo-bend.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/PDF_Exhibit4.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230220221234/https://www.toledo-bend.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/PDF_Exhibit4.pdf |url-status=usurped |archive-date=February 20, 2023 |title=Billy Joe "Red" McCombs |date=September 2018 |website=Toledo-Bend.com}}</ref>
*Minnesota Business and Opportunities Magazine Man of the Year{{cn|date=February 2023}}
*Texas Business Hall of Fame in 1998<ref>{{cite web|title= TBHF Legends|publisher= Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation|url=  https://texasbusiness.org/legends/}}</ref>
*Golden Plate Award of the [[Academy of Achievement|American Academy of Achievement]] in 1999. His award was presented by Awards Council member [[Lowry Mays]].<ref>{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]]|url=https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#business}}</ref>
*National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame Gold Medal in 2001<ref>{{cite web|title= RED MCCOMBS SELECTED TO RECEIVE GOLD MEDAL |date= May 10, 2001|publisher= National Football Foundation|url= https://footballfoundation.org/news/2018/4/17/football-red-mccombs-selected-to-receive-gold-medal.aspx?path=football }}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Red McCombs Media]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.redmccombs.com/ Red McCombs Automotive Group]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:McCombs, Red}}
[[Category:1927 births]]
[[Category:2023 deaths]]
[[Category:American businesspeople in the real estate industry]]
[[Category:American radio company founders]]
[[Category:American billionaires]]
[[Category:Denver Nuggets owners]]
[[Category:Minnesota Vikings owners]]
[[Category:San Antonio Spurs owners]]
[[Category:American Basketball Association executives]]
[[Category:NBA executives]]
[[Category:McCombs School of Business alumni]]
[[Category:People from Spur, Texas]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from San Antonio]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Texas]]
[[Category:American historical preservationists]]
[[Category:Blackwater (company) people]]
[[Category:University of Texas School of Law alumni]]