# Del Webb > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Del_Webb > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Del_Webb.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Del_Webb > Source revision: 1351715956 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American real-estate developer (1899–1974)}} {{about|the real-estate developer|the firm|Del E. Webb Construction Company}} {{Use American English|date=April 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2017}} {{infobox person |name = Del Webb |image = Del E. Webb, 1964.jpg |birth_name = Delbert Eugene Webb |birth_date = {{birth date|1899|5|17}} |birth_place = [Fresno, California](/source/Fresno%2C_California), U.S. |death_date = {{death_date and age|1974|7|4|1899|5|17}} |death_place = [Rochester, Minnesota](/source/Rochester%2C_Minnesota), U.S. |occupation = Real estate developer |employer = |known_for = * Co-owner of the [New York Yankees](/source/New_York_Yankees) ({{mlby|1945}}–{{mlby|1964}}) * Founder of the [Del E. Webb Construction Company](/source/Del_E._Webb_Construction_Company) |spouse = Hazel Lenora Church (1919–1952)
Toni Ince Webb (1961–1974) }} '''Delbert Eugene Webb''' (May 17, 1899 – July 4, 1974) was an American real-estate developer and a co-owner of the [New York Yankees](/source/New_York_Yankees) baseball club. He founded and developed the [retirement community](/source/retirement_community) of [Sun City, Arizona](/source/Sun_City%2C_Arizona), which was built by his [Del E. Webb Construction Company](/source/Del_E._Webb_Construction_Company).{{Cite news |last=Kistler |first=Robert |date=1974-07-05 |title=Del Webb, Construction Tycoon and Once Yankees Owner, Dies |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-del-webb-construc/159644551/ |access-date=2024-11-24 |work=The Los Angeles Times |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-del-webb-construc/159644551/ 1], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-del-e-webb/159644628/ 12] |via=[Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}} ==Early years== Webb was born in [Fresno, California](/source/Fresno%2C_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](/source/ship_fitter), and they were living with his parents and two younger brothers in [Placer County, California](/source/Placer_County%2C_California). At the age of 28, he suffered [typhoid fever](/source/typhoid_fever), and moved to [Phoenix, Arizona](/source/Phoenix%2C_Arizona), to recover. ==Career== In 1928, Webb began Del E. Webb Construction Company. He received many military contracts during [World War II](/source/World_War_II). In 1942, he led the construction of the [Poston War Relocation Center](/source/Poston_War_Relocation_Center) in Arizona, one of ten [Japanese-American internment camps](/source/Japanese-American_internment_camps) built during [World War II](/source/World_War_II), which held over 17,000 internees.{{cite web |last=Naylor |first=Roger |date=2015-04-24 |title=Arizona's Japanese-American internment camp: Thousands of U.S. Citizens were imprisoned at Poston Relocation Center |url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/travel/local/history/2015/04/24/arizonas-military-history-poston-memorial-monument/26201191/ |access-date=2024-11-24 |website=AZ Central}} Construction began on March 27, 1942, and was completed in three weeks. This was accomplished by a crew of 5,000 laborers working double shifts. A former [semiprofessional](/source/Semi-professional_sports) baseball player and a lifelong fan, Webb and partners [Dan Topping](/source/Dan_Topping) and [Larry MacPhail](/source/Larry_MacPhail) purchased the New York Yankees in 1945 for [$](/source/United_States_dollar)2.8 million from the estate of Col. [Jacob Ruppert, Jr.](/source/Jacob_Ruppert){{Cite news |last=Hand |first=Jack |date=1945-01-27 |title=Del Webb And Associates Buy New York Yankees |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-arizona-republic-del-webb-and-associ/159643485/ |access-date=2024-11-24 |work=The Arizona Republic |page=10 |via=[Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}} After buying out MacPhail in October 1947, Webb and Topping remained owners of the Yankees until selling the club to [CBS](/source/CBS) in 1964{{Cite news |date=1964-08-14 |title=Owners Okay Sale Of Yanks To CBS |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-palm-beach-post-owners-okay-sale-of/159644204/ |access-date=2024-11-24 |work=The Palm Beach Post |page=23 |publication-place=West Palm Beach, Florida |via=[Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com) |agency=Associated Press}} for $11.2 million. During those 20 seasons, the Yankees were in 15 [World Series](/source/World_Series), winning 10. In 1946, [mob boss](/source/mobster) [Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel](/source/Bugsy_Siegel) hired Webb as the [general contractor](/source/general_contractor) for the [Flamingo Hotel and Casino](/source/Flamingo_Las_Vegas) in [Las Vegas](/source/Las_Vegas). After boasting about his claim that he had personally killed 16 men, Siegel said to Webb, "Del, don't worry, we only kill each other", after seeing the panicked look on Webb’s face.Jennings, ''We Only Kill Each Other''. (1992). p. 17 Aside from Howard Hughes, Webb would become the largest casino owner in Nevada after his Webb Corporation acquired the Sahara Nevada Corporation and its holdings of the [Sahara](/source/Sahara_Las_Vegas) and [Mint](/source/The_Mint_Las_Vegas) hotels in Las Vegas. In 1948, Webb was contracted to build 600 houses and a shopping center called Pueblo Gardens in [Tucson, Arizona](/source/Tucson%2C_Arizona). [San Manuel, Arizona](/source/San_Manuel%2C_Arizona), a [mining](/source/San_Manuel_Copper_Mine) [company town](/source/company_town) and later a resort town, followed. Established in 1953, the town was built by Webb (along with M.O.W. Homes Inc.) for the Magma Copper Company. It required the building of streets, shopping centers, schools, a hospital, and parks.{{cite web |title=Del Webb Corporation History |url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/del-webb-corporation-history/ |access-date=28 December 2017 |website=Funding Universe}}{{cite web |last=Ascarza |first=William |date=2014-04-14 |title=Mine Tales: San Manuel was once world's largest underground copper mine |url=https://tucson.com/news/local/mine-tales-san-manuel-was-once-world-s-largest-underground/article_cbe2c60f-9516-520d-bcd3-b58679c1435d.html |access-date=28 December 2017 |website=Tucson.com}}{{cite news|url=http://repository.azgs.az.gov/sites/default/files/dlio/files/nid1566/cr-14-a_sanmanuel_v1.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905163508/http://repository.azgs.az.gov/sites/default/files/dlio/files/nid1566/cr-14-a_sanmanuel_v1.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 5, 2015 |title=History of the San Manuel-Kalamazoo Mine, Pinal County, Arizona | access-date=29 December 2017}} This was a prelude to [Sun City, Arizona](/source/Sun_City%2C_Arizona), which launched on January 1, 1960, with five home models, a shopping center, a recreation center, and a golf course. The opening weekend drew 100,000 people, 10 times more than expected, and resulted in a ''[Time](/source/Time_(magazine))'' cover story.{{cite journal |first=Judith Ann |last=Trolander |title=Age 55 or Better: Active Adult Communities and City Planning |journal=Journal of Urban History |year=2011 |volume=37 |issue=6 |pages=952–974 |doi=10.1177/0096144211418435 |pmid=22175080 |s2cid=25439269 }} ==Personal life== In 1919, Webb married his childhood sweetheart, Hazel Lenora Church. They divorced in 1952. In 1961, Webb married Toni Ince, then aged 41, a buyer for [Bullocks Wilshire](/source/Bullocks_Wilshire) department store in [Los Angeles](/source/Los_Angeles).{{Cite magazine |date=1962-08-03 |title=Modern Living: Man on the Cover: DEL WEBB |language=en-US |magazine=Time |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,896473,00.html |access-date=2023-01-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230130044731/https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,896473-1,00.html |archive-date=January 30, 2023 |issn=0040-781X}} Webb was elected to the [Gaming Hall of Fame](/source/Gaming_Hall_of_Fame) in 2000.{{cite web |title=The Gaming Hall of Fame |url=http://gaming.unlv.edu/hof/index.html |publisher=University of Nevada Las Vegas |access-date=August 30, 2009 |archive-date=March 18, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318103112/http://gaming.unlv.edu/hof/index.html |url-status=dead }} ==Death== Webb died at age 75 in [Rochester, Minnesota](/source/Rochester%2C_Minnesota), on July 4, 1974, following surgery for [lung cancer](/source/lung_cancer).{{Cite web |last=Hyman |first=Harold |date=1974-07-05 |title=Builder Del E. Webb Dies |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/1974/jul/05/builder-del-e-webb-dies/ |access-date=2023-01-30 |website=Las Vegas Sun |language=en}} ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20060208060618/http://www.delwebb.com/About/History.aspx Del Webb company website history of company and man] *[http://www.delewebbcenter.org/ Del E. Webb Center for the Performing Arts] {{New York Yankees owners}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Webb, Del}} Category:1899 births Category:1974 deaths Category:American businesspeople in the casino industry Category:American businesspeople in construction Category:American businesspeople in the real estate industry Category:Major League Baseball owners Category:New York Yankees owners Category:Businesspeople from Phoenix, Arizona Category:20th-century American businesspeople Category:Culture of Arizona Category:Businesspeople from Fresno, California --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Del Webb](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Del_Webb) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Del_Webb?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.