After the end of the Second World War, his family moved back to Florida, where he attended Lee High School, in Jacksonville.
During a lunchtime discussion with then Gators assistant coach Dewayne Douglas, Shires became interested in the issue of the players' suffering from dehydration during practice.
[4] Shires, who had played football in high school, had familiarity with the issue and found the problem interesting, and brought the matter to the attention of Dr.
[5] They, along with Jim Free and Alex de Quesada (two other postdoctoral fellows working in the nephrology lab under Cade), began research on dehydration during physical exertion.
[6] Under Cade, the team's research ultimately led to the formulation of a beverage that would replenish the sodium, sugar and water lost during strenuous exercise.
"[6] In 1982, Dr. Shires and Alex de Quesada, a colleague in the research and development of Gatorade, started the LifeLink Foundation in Tampa, Florida.