While nobody can truly pinpoint a person who first used it or a time that happened, the nickname for Houston has been around for a good, long while. We know it was being used in the early 1990's, because an R&B group got together, had heard the moniker used for their hometown, and then used it for their name.
"H-Town," and their single “Knockin’ Da Boots”, hit #1 on the Billboard R&B charts in 1993. The singers formed the band when they were at Yates High School. Their emergence on the music scene gave the city's nickname some more notoriety, both locally and beyond the 713 area code. (The 281 area code didn't emerge until 1996, while 832 cropped up three years after in 1999.)
Since then, the city's physical footprint and population have erupted. And so has the pride of being from here. More and more people refer to Houston as "H-Town" and the city's sports teams – professional, collegiate, and amateur – proudly rep the H.
Ultimately, it doesn't matter who coined it, or when and where it began. What's important is how it makes us feel. H-Town sounds like home. It sounds like community. And it lets us all rep Houston with a certain kind of pride and swagger.
From the franchise's beginning, Texans fans have emphasized the "H" in H-Town by throwin' up the H with their hands. As the team has developed since Bob and Janice McNair founded it and integrated into the city, throwin' up the H has become part of Houston culture.
Fans and players throw "H's up". With the back of the hand facing out, hand held in front of the chest, and both middle and ring fingers curled under the thumb, with the index and pinky fingers straight like a bull's horns. Importantly for people in H-Town, and unlike the Hook'em Horns hand signal for the University of Texas, the "H's up" sign has the palm of the hand facing inward.
If you're new to Houston – give it a try. Throw your H's up, give 'em some personality, and welcome – now you're in the Texans family.
We can't wait to share them with the people that inspired them.
