The man credited with debuting Texas football's famous hand gesture reportedly died Thursday at his farm outside of Austin, school officials said.
According to UT's alumni magazine The Alcalde, Harley Clark (BA '57, MA '60, LLB '62) was serving as head cheerleader when he introduced Longhorns faithful to the Hook 'em Horns sign nearly 59 years ago:
In anticipation of the (TCU) game, students combined the annual fundraising drive, called Campus Chest, with a football rally. With crimson hex candles burning in storefronts and homes around Austin, students paraded across campus to Gregory Gym, where, after a revival-style fundraising show, Harley Clark and the Texas cheerleaders pumped up the crowd for Saturday's game.
Then Clark did something unplanned. He lifted his hands in the now familiar gesture -- one suggested to him days earlier by classmate Henry "HK" Pitts, BA '56, Life Member, and told the crowd it was the new, official hand sign of the university.
That spontaneous moment launched a symbol that's since become synonymous with the university, and one that's sure to live on.
"Today Texas Exes mourn the passing of a man who embodied the spirit of our beloved university," said Texas Exes president Kay Bailey Hutchison, according to the Alcalde. "Harley Clark introduced the Hook 'em Horns hand sign, a symbol of Longhorn pride that is recognized and shared around the globe. His love and dedication to UT-Austin will never be forgotten."
The gesture initially got Clark in some trouble when the dean of student life lectured Clark that the signal was considered a vulgarity in Sicily and might be misinterpreted in Texas. But it was too late to stop it.
Texas fans show it during the signing of the "Eyes of Texas" before and after games, and there's seldom a touchdown where a player doesn't flash it for the cameras. Longhorns opponents liked to use it just as often, turning the signal upside down in a mocking gesture.
"It's perfect," Clark said in 2006. "It just says Texas."
The sign even reached the White House. It caused a Scandinavian scandal in 2005 when President George W. Bush and his daughter Jenna, a Texas graduate, flashed the sign during Bush's inauguration parade. A Norwegian newspaper interpreted it as a sign saluting Satan.
After school, Clark became a lawyer and was appointed a state district judge in 1977. He issued a landmark decision in 1987 that declared the state's public school finance system unconstitutional because of disparities between wealthy and poor school districts, a ruling that was upheld by the Texas Supreme Court.
Clark is survived by his wife Patti, and four children. Funeral services were pending Thursday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
