Red McCombs, Texas Business Icon and Entrepreneur, passed away at 95.
Red McCombs — beloved father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and friend — peacefully passed away surrounded by loved ones on Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023. McCombs was a multi-industry business magnate known for his local car dealerships, pro sports team ownership, generous philanthropy, and bigger-than-Texas personality. With a booming voice, classic drawl, and mop of red hair, McCombs left a legacy in line with his lifelong desire to support San Antonio and all of Texas.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Charline, in December 2019. Red and Charline were truly life partners, enjoying 69 years of marriage. From sports team ownership to their charitable giving, every major decision and action was made in tandem. Red’s loving affection for Charline was well known, and he was often quoted saying that “of all the business deals I’ve made, the only lifetime contract I’ve ever signed was with Charline.”
McCombs was born on Oct. 19, 1927, in Spur, Texas. While his birth certificate reads Billy Joe McCombs, only his parents and siblings used that name — to everyone else, he was simply Red.
Growing up in the Great Depression, a strong family value was cemented at a young age. Despite the whole family, including three other siblings, living on his father’s $24.75-a-week Ford mechanic’s salary, Red saw his parents tithe each Sunday at church. Moreover, as drifters came through town looking for work, he watched as his mother would provide bedding and food for anyone who came begging. Red saw and felt the joy of giving to others and made it an integral part of his life.
After serving in the Army after World War II, Red used the GI Bill to study at the business and law schools at The University of Texas in Austin. While waiting for a corporate job to begin, Red joined a friend to sell cars at a Ford dealership in Corpus Christi. After selling 10 in one weekend, he was hooked and never made it to that corporate job. McCombs immediately began selling 30 or more cars a month, and within half a year, set out on his own. McCombs Enterprises traces its roots to 1953 when Red began McCombs Used Cars on Water Street in Corpus Christi.
When Red’s first and only boss, Austin Hemphill, was having financial troubles at his San Antonio dealership, he called his former star salesman to come to the rescue. Red sat down with the sales team of 15, laying out the framework of how they would begin operating. Quickly, 10 of those salesmen walked out the door. Red then turned to the remaining five and promised them that if they stuck it out with him, he’d see to it that they each became car dealers eventually. Within a few months, Red sold his way back into a stable financial position, earning ownership of what is today now Red McCombs Ford. And yes, he kept his promise in getting those five salesmen their own dealerships.
While growing his car dealership empire, which would later reach more than 60 stores, Red and his family fell in love with San Antonio. It became home for them and would be for the remainder of his life. When presented the opportunity to help with HemisFair, Red jumped at it. Red’s connections with Ford secured the Ford Pavilion and subsequently attracted other corporate exhibitors. What he then realized, much to his chagrin, was how the majority of corporate America overlooked what they viewed as a “dusty old cow town.”
Red realized that San Antonio needed to be “put on the map,” and that the quickest way of doing so was via professional sports. With this in mind, he and a brazen team of speculators made a deal to acquire Dallas’s failed ABA team. While the first years were tough, the city of San Antonio eventually latched on to the Spurs and the common identity it offered for San Antonio. The team truly does belong to the people of San Antonio.
Red owned the Spurs two separate times, the latter of which ended with him handing the reigns over to the McDermott group and a collection of San Antonio businesses and families to ensure the team would forever remain in San Antonio. But it also allowed Red to pursue another dream of his: the NFL. After working to get a team in San Antonio to no avail, Red took a chance and managed to buy the Minnesota Vikings. McCombs understood the importance of the Vikings to the state of Minnesota and never planned on moving the team. He did realize, however, that their stadium situation would lead to the team departing Minnesota if left unresolved. After struggling to get stadium support for seven years, Red decided he wouldn’t be able to make that breakthrough and sold the team.
The joy of giving to others has always been important to Red, and with his business successes came the opportunity to make a bigger impact. Red’s passion for business and education found the perfect crossover at The University of Texas. In 1999, McCombs gave $50 million to the business school, which the Board of Regents renamed in Red’s honor. Texas McCombs has consistently ranked at the top for its undergraduate and MBA programs, and especially its accounting, finance, information systems, marketing, and entrepreneurship departments. This is a particularly incredible accomplishment considering its peers are often 10 times smaller in student count. Beyond the business school, Red has helped fund a brand-new softball stadium and the north end zone at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium, both named in Red’s honor.
In 2005, Red and Charline donated $30 million to M.D. Anderson to create the Institute for the Early Detection and Treatment of Cancer. This program was a one-of-its-kind initiative to bring cross-discipline researchers in-house to take down incurable cancers. Most notably, the institute’s Dr. Jim Allison was awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine for his breakthrough with immunotherapy.
Beyond his notable major gifts, McCombs has given tens of millions to numerous San Antonio organizations. Much of his giving was focused on the immediate needs of people after reading or hearing about their dire situations. In 1994, after a fire burned two classrooms at Mary Hull Elementary, a Westside school already at threat of closing due to poor test performances, Red became the school’s lead cheerleader. He hosted pep rallies for the students before tests and mentored and encouraged teachers. His spirit of giving all started by seeing the joy of giving to others during the Great Depression.
From the Corpus Christi Clippers to Clear Channel, Red has owned more businesses and told more stories than can be detailed here, but most of them are in his autobiography, Big Red. Red’s legacy will continue as the current and future generations of the McCombs family carry the torch and execute his vision.
He is survived by his daughters Lynda McCombs, Marsha Shields (John H.), and Connie McNab (Sandy); his 8 grandchildren; his 11 great-grandchildren; and numerous nephews and nieces.
