Red McCombs | |
|---|---|
| Born | Billy Joe McCombs (1927-10-19)October 19, 1927 Spur, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | February 19, 2023(2023-02-19) (aged 95) San Antonio, Texas, U.S. |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
Billy Joe"Red"McCombs (October 19, 1927[1] – February 19, 2023) was an American businessman. He was the founder of the Red McCombs Automotive Group inSan Antonio, Texas, a co-founder ofClear Channel Communications, a past chairman ofConstellis Group, a onetime owner of theSan Antonio Spurs,San Antonio Force,Denver Nuggets, theMinnesota Vikings, and the namesake of theMcCombs School of Business at theUniversity of Texas at Austin.
In 2022,Forbes placed the value of McCombs' fortune at $1.7 billion.[2]
McCombs was born inruralSpur inDickens County inWest Texas, United States.[3] His nickname "Red" came from his hair color.[4] His father was a mechanic who earned $25 per week buttithed through the FirstBaptist 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."[5]
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 theRed McCombs Automotive Group. McCombs served as chairman of the trustees atSouthwestern University and chairman of the University of Texas'sM.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.[5] The business school at theUniversity of Texas at Austin was renamed theRed 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.[5]
He was the board chairman ofAcademi.[6]
In 2017, McCombs filed a $1 millioncivil 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.[7][needs update]
McCombs attributed the construction of theHemisFair Arena as the essential development to the success of theSan Antonio Spurs. He contactedLee Iacocca, then president of theFord Motor Company, to seek funding for the arena to correspond with the1968 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."[8] McCombs persisted and askedU.S. PresidentLyndon B. Johnson to contactHenry 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 oftelevision 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 inGeorge Gervin, called "The Iceman", who was recruited from theVirginia Squires.[8]
Two years after taking the Spurs into the NBA, McCombs sold off his stake in the Spurs and bought another former ABA team, theDenver Nuggets. He held onto the team from 1978 until 1985, when he sold it toSidney Shlenker.[9] He then bought the Spurs in 1989 and ran them until he sold them in 1993. In 1998, McCombs bought theMinnesota Vikings for US$250 million. After an unsuccessful attempt to replace theHubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, McCombs sold the team to new (and current) ownerZygi Wilf before the2005 NFL season.[10] McCombs was also actively involved inthoroughbred racing and breeding for many years as a major partner in Walmac Farm, a leading American breeding farm, inLexington,Kentucky.[11]
McCombs was one of the first investors of theCircuit of the Americas. In December 2020 he got his 'own' corner called 'Big Red'.[12]
McCombs owned a piece of property surrounded by National Forest nearWolf Creek ski area, a resort in southernColorado 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.[13] McCombs then attempted to build a 50,000-acre (200 km2) casino resort at Navajo Canyon onLake Powell. The localNavajo Nation chapters, local government officials, all unanimously rejected the casino proposal and any projects by McCombs.[14]
In 2013, McCombs was found by theUnited States Supreme Court to have engaged in a sham tax avoidance transaction and was therefore liable for a valuation misstatement penalty.[15][16]
McCombs severely criticized the 2014 University of Texas hire ofCharlie Strong as football coach. He described Strong as "great position coach ... not on a par with other candidates."[17] Three days later he apologized and pledged "total support" for Strong.[18]
McCombs was a reformedalcoholic, who could "handle his social drinking" until the age of 48, when overcome with convulsions he went into a five-daycoma at a medical facility inHouston. McCombs said in aChristmas 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.'"[8] McCombs said that he recovered and never again had a desire for alcohol.[8]
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 toMothers 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."[5]
McCombs contributed $40,000 toDonald Trump's2020 presidential campaign.[19]
McCombs was married to Charline Hamblin from 1950 until her death on December 12, 2019.[20] McCombs died at his home in San Antonio on February 19, 2023, at the age of 95.[21]
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