Biography
McCombs was born in 1927 in Spur, Texas. His nickname "Red" comes from his hair color. He briefly attended Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, where he played football (lineman and receiver) before serving in the United States Army in 1946 and 1947. After completing his Army stint, McCombs enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin, attending the business school and law school. While at the University of Texas, McCombs was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. He married his wife, the former Charline Hamblin in 1950. In the early 1950s, McCombs sold cars at George Jones Ford in Corpus Christi, leaving college to do so. In 1958, he and his fellow salesman, Austin Hemphill, moved to San Antonio to create Hemphill-McCombs Ford, which was the foundation for what ultimately became the Red McCombs Automotive Group.
McCombs entered the energy industry in the 1960s, resulting in the Houston-based McCombs Energy. He has also been involved in real-estate through the Koontz-McCombs development company. In 1972, McCombs partnered with Lowry Mays to purchase WOAI radio in San Antonio. The station was the launching point for Clear Channel Communications.
He has previously served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Southwestern University and Chairman of the University of Texas's M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. The business school at the University of Texas was renamed the Red McCombs School of Business in recognition of a fifty million dollar donation to the university.
McCombs is the recipient of the Texas Legend Award from the Texas Automobile Dealers Association and the Living Legend award from the New Braunfels Chamber of Commerce. He has also been honored by the American Academy of Achievement, San Antonio Business Hall of Fame, San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame, Texas Business Hall of Fame, and the College Football Hall of Fame. He has received honorary degrees from Southwestern University, the University of Texas at San Antonio, and Texas Lutheran University. He also sits in the board of eCommerce firm Cinsay Inc.
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