Doug Shanks

Shanks was born on October 25, 1946, in Soso, Mississippi.^[7] Shanks was the son of Fred David and Frances (McMillan) Shanks.^[2][8] Shanks graduated from Provine High School in 1964.^[5] He then graduated from Liberty University.^[7]

Shanks had wanted to become the mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, since he was a teenager.^[9] Before 1977, he served as the Jackson director of public relations.^[10] He was the city commissioner of Jackson, Mississippi from 1973 to 1977, under mayor Russell C. Davis.^[5][11] In 1973, he became the first Republican to serve on the Jackson City Council.^[11] In 1977 and 1981, as a Republican, he ran for mayor against Democrat Dale Danks, but lost.^[2][5]

In 2001, Shanks became the first white head coach of a major sport at Mississippi Valley State, when he became the head baseball coach there.^[12] After 14 seasons at Mississippi Valley State University, Shanks retired from coaching college baseball to become the head coach at Central Hinds Academy.^[13]

In 2020, Shanks co-wrote and published a book that details the history of southern Jackson from 1945 to 1965, called One Direction Home.^[14]

He married Kay Guest in 1975.^[2] They had four children together.^[7] One son, Fred, is a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives from Brandon.^[15]