70 years of pride: story behind iconic Hook ‘Em Horns sign

Photo Credit: Lorianne Willett

In 1955, sizzling burgers and the soft hum of jukeboxes filled the small drive-in restaurant in East Texas, while students H.K. Pitts and his suitemate James leaned against a counter. What began as playful teasing between friends quickly turned into the invention of a hand sign that would forever change the University of Texas at Austin.

“James and I were sitting and doing shadow pictures on the wall, we always did one like a cow horn,” Pitts said. “I started poking in the eyes with my left hand formed in the hook ‘em horn sign that we use now. And that moment of insight came to him, and I said that would be a great sign for the Longhorns.”

In November 1955, the UT football team began preparing for a high-stakes game against the TCU Horned Frogs. As the campus buzzed with excitement, nightly rallies took place, students lining the streets with candles and signs in support of their team. In the middle of it all was Harley Clark, the head cheerleader, who would bring Pitts’ idea to the entire student body.

“(Harley) got on the stage and Harley said, ‘HK Pitts has come up (with) this sign, hook them horns, and that’s going to be (the) sign of the University of Texas from now (on),’” Pitts said. “That’s how it started.”

The gesture quickly spread across campus, moving from students to alumni in the stands. Pitts didn’t realize how far the hand sign would reach until months later, when he returned to school and saw how widely it caught on.

“I was in California a few years back, and I did have Texas license plates, and this car passed me and blew his horn and gave him a hook ‘em horn sign,” Pitts said. “It’s pretty well endemic all over all over America, for sure.”

For Texas alumna Aubrey Vinklarek, who earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UT, the hand sign represents more than just school spirit, but also connection and belonging. Vinklarek said the sign creates a sense of community even among strangers and that everywhere you go, someone will recognize it. That feeling of connection hit hardest at her first UT football game.

“The first ever UT game that I went to when I was a freshman in college, and you don’t know the chants,” Vinklarek said. “Just being in the student section and using the hook and sign there. I would feel that immense pride, because I feel like it’s a very big deal to be able to go to the University of Texas and knowing I am a part of something really awesome and really big that is known around the world.”

This same pride shaped generations of Texas Exes and current students. On campus and at games, the Hook ’em Horns gesture remains a familiar part of student life, a visible link to the school’s history.

“Any time we’re in uniform or representing cheer, it is like an honor to be able to do that hand sign,” Lily Russell, Texas Cheer & Pom Member and sociology sophomore, said. “Because of how renowned the school is, and how important it is, especially to the history of Texas cheer … I do it with pride.”

As the hand sign celebrates its 70th anniversary this November, Pitts reflected on the gesture’s journey from a simple idea shared between friends to a worldwide symbol of UT pride. He said the recognition and connection it continues to foster among alumni and students alike still humbles him.

“I think it will go on from generation to generation and be a sign that all Texas Exes can be proud of,” Pitt said.

This article was written for The Daily Texan the official newspaper of The University of Texas at Austin