UH Cougar Paw came before the Evil Empire’s Hook’ Em sign, which originated in 1955.
Cougar Paw = Hook 'Em with one big middle finger stuck in it
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If that’s the case then it’s not equal
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While it is correct to say that the Cougar Paw hand sign has its origins in an event that took place in 1953, it’s NOT correct to say that we started using it regularly at that time.
My late Father said that he never remembered it being used until we started playing UT in the late 60s.
UH yearbooks prior to that generally show the students and team holding up a “V for Victory” hand sign.
That is consistent with the “official” history from the UH alumni org.
Quote: In Texas, all of the major universities have adopted a hand sign which signifies to all other Texans where your loyalties lie. The Cougar Hand Sign is no different. Although the original hand sign was the “V” for Victory until 1965, events conspired and a new hand sign was adopted. The inaugural football game between University of Houston and University of Texas during the 1953 campaign witnessed the birth of a blood rivalry between the state’s two largest universities at that time. However, it also led to the adoption of another Cougar Hand Sign. During her transport from Houston to Austin, one of the fingers on Shasta’s paw was severed when the cage door was closed. As the University of Texas partisans and players caught wind of the accident, they mimicked the animal by bending their thumb over the ring finger against their palm. This gesture implied that the Cougars were invalids. The Cougars would go on to lose the game 28-7.
The cougar faithful, still mindful of the stinging defeat suffered 15 years earlier, never forgot the taunting that they received. The next time the two teams faced off (1968… a whole 15 years later), UH tied UT 20-20. At that point, the students thought there might be a bit of magic in that sign, and the hand sign was adopted replacing the “V”.
Given that, I don’t really think that it’s accurate to try and claim that our Cougar Paw sign “came before” the Hook 'Em Horns sign. The truth is, we were trying to join the SWC in the late 1960s, and, because of that, we began to look for a uniquely UH hand sign that would enable us to “fit in” with those schools. The truth is, our sign, as it is now used today, really came well after UT’s hand sign, and was largely done in imitation of other Texas schools.
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Well, UH didn’t “tie” ut. ut tied UH and the refs made sure it stayed tied late in the game !
A more accurate description.
And… I prefer the single finger hand sign when we play ut.
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Thanks for the clarification! I was trying to come on here and ask a few alum if they knew when the Cougar Paw REALLY started, but it was a fun fact to see that Hook’ Em came in the mid 50s.
Also, our logo pays homage (because we wanted to connect with alumni from years past) in putting the two fingers that would have been ‘V’ for victory to represent the ‘V’ in our acronym/logo.
CV3
Thank You. Texas University only deserves the single finger…
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