Ray Webb
Ray was originally from Iowa and moved to Dade City in 1969 as a co-owner of WDCF (with city commissioner R. Duane Anderson). He also owned and operated a newspaper, the Dade City Banner, later re-named Pasco East and then Pasco News. Before selling it to an Ohio company in 1973, he had expanded the paper from a weekly to one that was published five times a week. He was also civic minded and served on the committee responsible for the establishment of Pasco-Hernando Community College in 1972.
Never one to shy away from controversy, he is most remembered for challenging Dade City’s power structure in the early 1970’s when those who ran the town referred to him as an “outside agitator.” He also ran into problems with the law after being charged with receiving stolen radio equipment in connection with a theft from a rival station; however, those charges were dismissed (charges that Webb called “a pack of lies”) when the judge ruled that the statute of limitations had expired.
Ray moved to California in the early 90’s where he owned and operated another AM station and built KVVT-TV (now KHIZ-TV) in Victorville. While on the west coast, he became one of the founders (with actor Pat Buttram who conceived the idea) of the Golden Boot Award to benefit the Motion Picture Home for retired actors in Woodland Hills.
In the late 90’s he returned to Florida and settled in Brooksville. On April 15, 2008, Ray passed away from injuries suffered after being struck by a boat trailer in a Tampa parking lot. He was 72.
Station History
1969 - 1984 Other Tampa Bay Area Stations (Management)
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