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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, The Lone Star State lost a business icon and |
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renowned philanthropist with the passing of B. J. "Red" McCombs of |
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San Antonio on February 19, 2023, at the age of 95; and |
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WHEREAS, Billy Joe McCombs was born in the small West Texas |
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town of Spur on October 19, 1927, and earned his nickname for his |
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mop of red hair; a star athlete in high school, he earned a |
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scholarship to play football at Southwestern University in |
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Georgetown in 1945, but he put his studies on hold the following |
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year to enlist in the United States Army; following his military |
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service, he enrolled at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, where he |
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met the love of his life, the former Charline Hamblin; the couple |
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exchanged wedding vows in November 1950; and |
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WHEREAS, Although Mr. McCombs studied law at The University |
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of Texas at Austin for a time, he changed course and began working |
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as a car salesman in Corpus Christi, a job that was a natural fit for |
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his talents and personality; by 1953, he had opened his first used |
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car dealership, and a year later, he added sports to his business |
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interests when he joined a friend in purchasing the Corpus Christi |
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Clippers minor league baseball team, the first of what would be many |
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sports franchise ventures; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. McCombs' well-earned reputation for turning |
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around struggling businesses was demonstrated early on with a car |
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dealership in San Antonio, and his auto sales empire ultimately |
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expanded to more than 60 locations; he became a prominent figure in |
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the Alamo City, and his involvement was key to the staging of |
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HemisFair '68, which helped raise the community's stature |
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nationally and internationally; in 1973, he purchased the Dallas |
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Chaparrals basketball team and renamed it the San Antonio Spurs, |
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providing the city with its signature professional team, and he was |
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later instrumental in the opening of SeaWorld and the construction |
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of the Alamodome; and |
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WHEREAS, Demonstrating his business acumen in a broad range |
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of endeavors, Mr. McCombs co-founded the mass media corporation |
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Clear Channel Communications, which became iHeartMedia, and |
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invested in oil and gas, real estate, cattle, motion picture |
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distribution, and other industries; moreover, his enthusiasm for |
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sports ownership, which he cited as his favorite business, extended |
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beyond the Spurs and led to the acquisition of the Denver Nuggets |
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and the Minnesota Vikings, and to the building of the Circuit of the |
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Americas racetrack outside Austin; and |
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WHEREAS, A philanthropist of equally legendary stature, |
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Mr. McCombs supported a wide array of causes and institutions; in |
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2000, his gift of $50 million to The University of Texas at Austin |
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business school resulted in it being renamed the McCombs School of |
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Business, and his donation of $3 million toward women's athletics |
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at UT in 1997 led to the development of a new softball complex, the |
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Red and Charline McCombs Field; Mr. and Mrs. McCombs also |
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established the McCombs Foundation, which has contributed over $118 |
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million in gifts, both large and small, to charities and |
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organizations based in San Antonio and other cities; in 2005, his |
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donation of $30 million to MD Anderson Cancer Center resulted in the |
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creation of another namesake facility, the Red and Charline McCombs |
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Institute for the Early Detection and Treatment of Cancer; and |
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WHEREAS, This larger-than-life Texan was passionate about |
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collecting historical items, particularly Old West artifacts, |
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which included paintings, saddles, walking sticks, and antique |
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firearms; he eventually amassed around 7,000 of these items and put |
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much of his extensive collection on loan, with more than 1,000 |
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pieces currently being housed at Southwestern University; and |
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WHEREAS, Of all the decisions he made, Mr. McCombs considered |
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marrying his wife, Charline, to be his best, and she was his partner |
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in life as well as philanthropy until her passing in 2019; he took |
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immense pride in his daughters, Marsha, Connie, and Lynda, and with |
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the passing years, his family grew to include numerous |
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grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and |
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WHEREAS, Red McCombs left an indelible mark on the Lone Star |
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State through his storied entrepreneurial success and his generous |
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efforts to benefit communities, institutions, and worthwhile |
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causes throughout Texas, and he will be fondly remembered and |
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greatly missed by those who had the good fortune to know him; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 88th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby pay tribute to the life of B. J. "Red" McCombs and extend |
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deepest sympathy to the members of his family: to his daughters, |
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Lynda McCombs, Marsha Shields and her husband, John, and Connie |
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McNab and her husband, Sandy; to his grandchildren, Carson Rubey IV |
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and his wife, Cristina, Chloe Shands and her husband, Matt, Anna |
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Turner and her husband, Chris, Joe Shields and his wife, Andrea, |
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Charles McNab, Sita McNab, Ian McNab and his wife, Alicia, and |
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Easton McNab and his wife, Claire; to his great-grandchildren, |
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Carson Rubey V, Townsend Shands, Christopher Turner, Zachary |
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Turner, Charlotte Shields, Stella McNab, Wylie McNab, Ewan McNab, |
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Billie McNab, Marianne McNab, and Isabella McNab; to his sister, |
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LaWanda McCombs; to his many nieces and nephews; and to all who |
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mourn his passing; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of |
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Representatives and Senate adjourn this day, they do so in memory of |
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Red McCombs. |