Founder of Houston Texans Dies at 81 ( with Video)

By: Ahmed Yasser

CAIRO, Nov. 24 (SEE) – Houston Texans owner Bob McNair died on Friday at  age of 81, surrounded by his wife, family and his team announced via a post on Twitter.

He was Born in 1937 and grew up in the foothills of North Carolina in a small town called ''Forest City''. This 7,500-person community served as his home and place of education until he left for the University of South Carolina after graduating in 1958 with a Bachelor of Science. Later moved to Houston in 1960.

Throughout his life McNair and his charitable foundations generously gave more than $500 million to a wide array of scientific, literary, educational and faith-based organizations. McNair chaired the Robert and Janice McNair Foundation the Houston Texans Foundation and Robert and Janice McNair Educational.

He also served as senior chairman of McNair Interests, Palmetto Partners, Ltd. and RCM Financial Services L.P. He was inducted into the Texas Business Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Houston Hall of Fame in 2010. In 2018, McNair became the sixth recipient of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame’s ''Lamar Hunt Lifetime Achievement Award''.

McNair founded ''Houston NFL'' Holdings in 1998 with the sole purpose of bringing football back to the city after the ''Oilers'' departed for Tennessee. The ''NFL'' awarded the 32nd franchise to McNair on October 6th, 1999 after he paid $700 million for the expansion franchise, but the Texans didn't play their first game until the 2002 season.

His influence and leadership also brought two Super Bowls to NRG Stadium ''Super Bowl XXXVIII'' in 2004 and ''Super Bowl LI'' in 2017. As a committed leader in the NFL, McNair was actively involved in league affairs including serving as chairman of the Finance Committee, a member of the Audit, Compensation and Chairman’s committees.

McNair donated over $100 million to help build and support the program. He has been honored for his devotion to supporting the education of inner-city and underprivileged youth and was awarded the ''James A. Baker III Prize'' for Excellence in Leadership. The McNair Scholars Program recruits and deploys world-class physicians and research scientists in the fields of diabetes, cancer and neurosciences, which helps influencers across Houston’s acclaimed Texas Medical Center.

McNairs’ love of community is evident throughout the city including projects such as the Baylor College of Medicine McNair Campus, the Houston Zoo’s Elephant Habitat, jogging trail at Discovery Green, United Way Computer Training Center and the McNair Hall and Plaza at Houston Baptist University.

https://youtu.be/Ftxxf2_Fi44