Don Shows

Sport: Coach

Induction Year: 2011

Induction Year: 2011
 

Don Shows, 71, has a 326-68 (.827) record going into his 14th state championship game appearance in 30 years as a head football coach at four public high schools (Farmerville, Jonesboro-Hodge, Pineville, West Monroe). Coach Shows has won seven state championships (1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2005, 2009) in the state’s largest classification and has been state runner-up five times at WMHS (1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2010) and once at JHHS. West Monroe has won 17 district titles and two mythical national championships.

At West Monroe in 1989, Shows took over a program that regularly finished last in its district, going 3-6 in 1988. He built one of Louisiana’s great prep football powerhouses complete with remarkable facilities and sellout crowds of 8,000.  The Rebels reached the state finals seven consecutive seasons from 1996-2002 and won 40 straight games from 1996-1999. West Monroe’s program was the focus of an ESPN season-long reality show in 2008. He took over a 1-9 JHHS team and guided the Tigers to a 13-1 state Class AA runner-up season in 1977, earning the first of his state “Coach of the Year” honors.

Shows moved to Pineville and steered those Rebels to an undefeated regular season before joining the Northwestern State staff as offensive line coach, helping the Demons win the 1988 Southland Conference crown before taking the WMHS post. He was a standout running back at Ruston High under Hall of Fame coach “Hoss” Garrett.