Billy Joe ?’Red?“ McCombs answers questions from the media during his 90th birthday celebration held Monday October 16, 2017 at Magnolia Halle. Red's birthday is Oct. 19th., a self-described “car peddler” who built an empire that included auto dealerships, communications, sports teams, oil and gas exploration, real estate and ranching, has died.“We mourn the loss of a Texas icon,” the family said in a statement.
The thing about Red McCombs is it’s impossible to reduce his impact to just one headline. If you live in San Antonio, or if you root for the Spurs, or if you went to UT business school, or if you played softball for the Longhorns, he changed things for you. Often in a big way.“There’s never been a predator like cancer,” he said. “It’s the great thief crossing our borders, robbing Texas of its precious assets. We want to see M.D. Anderson’s slogan of ‘Making Cancer History’ become a reality.
The oldest of four children, McCombs delivered the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal and when he moved on to a better job, tried to sell the route for $50. After completing two years in the Army — 1946 and 1947 — McCombs attended the University of Texas at Austin. Back then, the national sales average was 10 cars per month. McCombs set a goal of selling one car a day.
On his first day with Hemphill, 11 out of 16 salesmen walked out. The five that remained later became successful dealers with McCombs’ help. He also missed out on the Volkswagen franchises for Houston because he didn’t think Americans would ever buy the beetle-shaped cars.A statue of B.J."Red" McCombs resides at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin. McCombs is a longtime financial supporter of University of Texas athletics. McCombs died Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023, at the age of 95.He also had interests in ranching, Red McCombs Oil, real estate and communications.
McCombs’ association with the Spurs began in 1973, when the late Angelo Drossos convinced him to move the Dallas Chaparrals of the American Basketball Association to San Antonio. Always unconventional, McCombs hired John Lucas, a recovering addict and former player, to replace Jerry Tarkanian as coach of the Spurs in late 1992.“I’ve said it before: Of all the things I’ve done in my life, nothing makes the adrenaline flow like owning a sports team,” McCombs said.
“To own an NFL team was a dream of mine,” the San Antonio auto magnate said when he announced the sale of the franchise. “It is the absolute top of the mountain in sports. We accomplished that and found about everything that we were looking for and then some. It’s been a great, great run.”
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