Del Webb

Delbert Eugene Webb (May 17, 1899 – July 4, 1974) was an American construction magnate, real estate developer and sports-team owner, who is most significant for founding and developing the retirement community of Sun City, Arizona.

Early life

He was born in Fresno, California, the son of Ernest G Webb, a fruit farmer, and Henrietta S Webb. Webb dropped out of high school to become a carpenter's apprentice. In 1919 or 1920, Webb married Hazel Lenora Church, a graduate nurse. In 1920, Webb was a ship fitter, and they were living with his parents and two younger brothers in Placer County, California. At the age of 28, he suffered typhoid fever, and as a result moved to Phoenix, Arizona, to recover.

Career

In 1928, he began his namesake company which was a construction contractor. He received many military contracts during World War II, including the construction of the Poston War Relocation Center near Parker, Arizona. Poston interned over 17,000 Japanese-Americans and at the time was the third largest “city” in Arizona.

He was associated with Howard Hughes and golfed with Hughes, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Robert and Barry Goldwater.

A lifelong baseball fan, in 1945 Webb and partners Dan Topping and Larry MacPhail purchased the New York Yankees team in Major League Baseball for US$2.8 million. After buying out MacPhail in October 1947, Webb and Topping would remain owners of the Yankees until selling the club to CBS during the 1964 season.

In 1948, in Tucson, Arizona, Webb was contracted to build 600 houses and a shopping center called Pueblo Gardens. This was a prelude to Sun City, Arizona, which was launched January 1, 1960, with five models, a shopping center, recreation center and golf course. The opening weekend drew 100,000 people, ten times more than expected, and resulted in a Time magazine cover story.

Webb also developed a chain of motor hotels under the “Hiway House” name, 'formal' hotels called "Del Webb's Towne House", and built the Las Vegas Flamingo hotel for Bugsy Siegel. He later owned his own casinos, the Sahara and The Mint in Las Vegas, and the Sahara Tahoe at Stateline, NV. Del Webb Middle School, in Henderson, Nevada, opened in 2005.

Webb was elected to the Gaming Hall of Fame in 2000.^[1]

Webb died at age 75 in Rochester, Minnesota, following surgery for lung cancer, less than two months after Topping’s death.

Personal life

In 1919, Webb married his childhood sweetheart, Hazel Lenora Church. They divorced in 1952.^[2] In 1961, Webb married Toni Ince (aged 41) a buyer for Bullock's-Wilshire department store, Los Angeles.^[3] Toni Ince Webb (January 24, 1921-July 10, 2008) lived in Beverly Hills, California until her death. ^[4]

See also

Biography portal

• Sun City Palm Desert, California
• Sun City Summerlin, Nevada
• Sun City Anthem Florence, Arizona
• Sun City Texas Georgetown, Texas
• Sun City Vistoso Tucson/Oro Valley, Arizona

References

1. ^ "The Gaming Hall of Fame". University of Nevada Las Vegas. http://gaming.unlv.edu/hof/index.html. Retrieved 2009-08-30. 
2. ^ http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,896473,00.html
3. ^ http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,896473,00.html
4. ^ http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi

External links

• Del Webb company website history of company and man
• Del E. Webb Center for the Performing Arts
• "Del Webb". Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6819111. Retrieved August 30, 2010. 

Preceded by Jacob Ruppert Estate

Owner of the New York Yankees with Dan Topping and Larry MacPhail 1945-1947 with Dan Topping 1947-1964

Succeeded by CBS

Persondata
Name	Webb, Del
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	May 17, 1899
Place of birth
Date of death	July 4, 1974
Place of death