William Joe “Red” McCombs, a longstanding Texas businessman and previous owner of two NBA teams, an NFL franchise, and a franchise, passed away on Sunday at his San Antonio home, his family announced on Monday. At the age of 95, McCombs lost his wife Charline in 2019.
The statement that referred to McCombs as “a Texas icon” read, “The whole McCombs family is heartbroken to say that our father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, Red McCombs passed away Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023.”
“Red was a visionary entrepreneur who touched many lives and impacted our community in immeasurable ways,” the statement said. “But to us he was always, first and foremost, ‘Dad’ or ‘Poppop.'”
According to the McCombs Enterprises website, McCombs owned more than 400 enterprises throughout his career. The University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business bears his name. Between his two ownership spells, he also owned the Denver Nuggets of the NBA, the Minnesota Vikings of the NFL, and the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA twice.
The Vikings issued a statement expressing their appreciation for McCombs and their sympathies for his family. After selling his ownership of the team, “Red personified his iconic ‘Purple Pride’ motto and remained a diehard Vikings fan,” according to the statement. “While Red had a clear passion for sports, it was evident what he loved the most were his children and grandchildren,” the statement said.
He started out as an auto salesperson in Corpus Christi, Texas, in the early 1950s. He eventually founded Red McCombs Automotive, a network of dealerships, in San Antonio.
Later, he founded McCombs Energy, a business in the oil and gas sector, and ran real estate and land development firms, cattle ranches, and breeding facilities. Also, he was a founding member of Clear Channel Communications, which later changed its name to iHeartCommunications, Inc.
Daughters Lynda McCombs, Marsha Shields, and Connie McNab, along with eight grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren, survive McCombs.
No funeral arrangements were made public.
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