Delbert Eugene Webb (May 17, 1899 – July 4, 1974) was an American real estate developer. He is known for founding and developing the retirement community of Sun City, Arizona.

Early years[link]

Webb was born in Fresno, California to Ernest G Webb, a fruit farmer, and Henrietta S Webb. He dropped out of high school to become a carpenter's apprentice, and in 1919, he 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[link]

In 1928, Webb 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. Webb was associated with Howard Hughes and played golf 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 for US$2.8 million. After buying out MacPhail in October 1947, Webb and Topping remained owners of the Yankees until selling the club to CBS in 1964.

In 1948 Webb was contracted to build 600 houses and a shopping center called Pueblo Gardens in Tucson, Arizona. This was a prelude to Sun City, Arizona, which was launched January 1, 1960, with five home 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.^[1]

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.

Webb was elected to the Gaming Hall of Fame in 2000.^[2] The Del Webb Middle School, named in his honor, opened in Henderson, Nevada in 2005.

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

A charitable foundation named for him funds medical research in Nevada, Arizona and California.

Personal life[link]

In 1919, Webb married his childhood sweetheart, Hazel Lenora Church. They divorced in 1952. 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. He had no children.

See also[link]

• Sun City Palm Desert, California
• Sun City Summerlin, Nevada
• Sun City Texas Georgetown, Texas

References[link]

Biography portal

External links[link]

• Del Webb company website history of company and man
• Del E. Webb Center for the Performing Arts
• Del Webb at Find a Grave

Look up Webb in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Webb may refer to:

Places[link]

Antarctica

• Webb Neve, the neve at the head of Seafarer Glacier
• Webb Nunataks, a group of nunataks in the Neptune Range
• Webb Peak, a peak at the west end of Crescent Scarp

Australia

• Mount Webb National Park, Queensland

Canada

• Webb, Saskatchewan
• Webb No. 138, Saskatchewan, a rural municipality

United States

• Webb Air Force Base near Big Spring, Texas
• Webb, Alabama
• Webb, Iowa
• Webb, Mississippi
• Webb, New York
• Webb City, Missouri
• Webb City, Oklahoma
• Webb County, Texas
• Webb Lake, Wisconsin, a town
• Webb Lake (community), Wisconsin, an unincorporated community
• Webb House (disambiguation), in numerous US states
• Webb River, in Maine

The Moon

• Webb (crater)

People[link]

Given name[link]

• Webb C. Ball (1947-1895), US jeweler and watchmaker
• Webb Franklin (1941 - ), US Representative from Mississippi
• Webb Gillman (1870–1933), Irish General
• Webb Hayes (1856–1923), US businessman and soldier
• Webb Miller, American professor
• Webb Miller (journalist) (1891–1940), American war correspondent
• Webb Pierce (1921–1991), American country music singer
• Webb Seymour, 10th Duke of Somerset (1718–1793)
• Webb Simpson (1985 - ), American golfer
• Webb Schultz (1898–1986), American baseball pitcher
• Webb Wilder (1954 - ), American rock singer

Surname[link]

• Alan Webb (disambiguation)
• Alexander Russell Webb (1846–1916), American writer and publisher, converted to Islam
• Alexander S. Webb (1835–1911), United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War
• Alexandra Kay Webb (1992-),
• Alison Webb (1961-), Canadian judoka
• Aston Webb (1849–1930), British architect
• Beatrice Webb (1858–1943), British reformer; wife of Sidney Webb
• Benjamin Joseph Webb (1814–1897), Catholic editor, state senator for Kentucky, and historian
• Billy Webb (character), Billy "Spider" Webb, a fictional character from the Australian TV drama Sea Patrol
• Billy Webb, alias of Greg Johnston, member of Goldie Lookin Chain
• Bradie Webb, drummer in Short Stack
• Brandon Webb (1979-), baseball player
• Carl Webb (1981-), Australian rugby league player
• Charles Webb (author) (1939-), American author of The Graduate
• Charles Webb (architect) (1821–1898), Australian architect
• Charley Webb (1988-), English actress
• Chick Webb (1909–1939), US jazz musician
• Chloe Webb (1960-), US actor
• Clifton Webb (1889–1966), US actor
• Daniel Webb (disambiguation)
• David Michael Webb, a Hong Kong sharemarket analyst
• David Webb (footballer) (1946-) English footballer and football manager, father of Daniel Webb
• Del Webb (1899–1974), American real estate developer
• Derek Webb (1974-), American singer-songwriter
• Donald Eugene Webb (1931-), fugitive on the FBI's most wanted list
• Douglas Webb (1922–1996), British photographer
• Electra Havemeyer Webb (1888–1960), U.S. art collector, founded the Shelburne Museum
• Francis Webb (engineer) (1836–1906), Locomotive designer for the London and North Western Railway
• Gary Webb (disambiguation)
• George Webb (disambiguation)
• George James Webb (1803–1887), British-American composer
• H. Walter Webb (1856–1919) U.S. railway executive
• Henry Webb (disambiguation)
• Howard Webb (1971-), English football referee
• Harry Webb, singer better known by his stage name Cliff Richard
• Jack Webb (1920–1982), US actor, most famous for his role as a detective in the television series Dragnet
• James Webb (disambiguation), includes James, Jim and Jimmy Webb
• Jim Webb, Senior United States Senator for the Commonwealth of Virginia (Incumbent Democrat)
• John Webb (disambiguation)
• Karrie Webb (1974-), Australian golfer
• Keith Houghton-Webb (1959), Australian TV co-host; brother of Mike Webb (pastor)
• Lara Honos-Webb, American psychologist and author
• Leonard Webb (1921-), World War II veteran
• Lizzie Webb, British exercise television show host
• Lorna Webb (1983-), English professional cyclist
• Lucy Webb Hayes (1831–1889), First Lady of the United States during the presidency of her husband Rutherford B. Hayes
• Marti Webb (1944-), English musical actress
• Mary Webb (1881–1927), English romantic novelist
• Matthew Webb (1848–1883), first person to swim the English Channel without the use of artificial aids
• Maynard Webb (1955-), CEO of LiveOps, former COO of eBay
• Mike Webb (pastor) (1956-), Australian TV co-host turned church minister; brother of Keith Houghton-Webb
• Mike Webb (radio announcer) (1955–2007), murdered American radio personality
• Morgan Webb (1978-), US television host
• Neil Webb (1963-), British footballer, Nottingham Forest and England international
• Nick Webb (author) (1959-), British author
• Nick Webb (musician) (1954–1998), British musician
• Paddy Webb (1884–1950), New Zealand unionist and politician
• Paul Webb, MD, developer of the Space activity suit
• Philip Barker Webb (1793–1854), English botanist
• Philip Carteret Webb (1702–1770), English barrister, involved with the 18th-century antiquarian movement
• Philip Webb (1831–1915), British "Father of Arts and Crafts Architecture"
• Phyllis Webb (1927-), Canadian poet
• Ralph Humphreys Webb (1887–1945), mayor of Winnipeg
• Rhys 'Spider' Webb (1983-), musician with The Horrors
• Richard Webb (actor) (1915–1993), US actor
• Richard Webb (cricketer) (1952-), New Zealand cricketer
• Rita Webb (1904–1981), English actress
• Robert Webb (actor) (1972-), British actor and comedian
• Robin Webb, runs the Animal Liberation Press Office in the UK
• Russell Webb (1945-), American water polo player
• Sam Webb, Chair of the Communist Party USA
• Sarah Webb (1977-), British Olympic sailor
• Sidney Webb, 1st Baron Passfield (1859–1947), British reformer; husband of Beatrice Webb
• Simon Webb (disambiguation)
• Skeeter Webb (James Laverne Webb, 1909–1986), Major League Baseball player
• Suhaib Webb
• Spud Webb, (Anthony Jerome Webb, 1963-), National Basketball Association basketball player
• Steve Webb (1965-), United Kingdom politician
• Tamilee Webb (1960-), US personal fitness personality
• Taylor Webb, Missouri Politician
• Timothy James Webb (1967-), Australian artist
• Thomas William Webb (1807–1885), British astronomer
• Travis "Spider" Webb (1910–1990), US Formula One driver
• Watt W. Webb
• Wellington Webb (1941-), US politician
• William Webb (disambiguation)

Education[link]

• Webb Institute, US college
• Gardner-Webb University, a private 4 year college located in Boiling Springs, North Carolina
• The Webb School (disambiguation)

Other uses[link]

• Webb and Knapp, development company
• A house of Adams' Grammar School, Newport, Shropshire

See also[link]

• web (disambiguation)
• Webbe
• Weber
• Webber (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.