Watch Astros Parade: Full Video Of Hundreds Of Thousands In Downtown Houston

The Houston Astros won their first ever World Series title on Wednesday when they defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in a thrilling seven-game series. On Friday, Houston's downtown was packed with hundreds of thousands of fans to celebrate the team's victory — the first of a major sport since the Houston Rockets won the NBA Finals in 1994.

The Houston school district canceled Friday classes for students, staff and their families to be able to attend the parade.

"What a terrific day this is for the city of Houston," said Mayor Sylvester Turner. Turner cited how the Astros helped relieve the city after Hurricane Harvey struck the city in September.

"We have had the largest parade this city has ever seen in this history," Turner said.

Early reports indicated that there were more than 500,000 attendees at the parade, which would be similar to the number that showed up for the Rockets' parade.

"This is amazing. This is awesome," said Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow from a float that carried a giant baseball. "Everybody is smiling. We've been excited all day."

ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons, a Houston native, performed at the rally and was joined by backup vocalists for "The Star-Spangled Banner."

Gov. Greg Abbott also appeared on stage. "This is a victory far bigger than Houston Texas. This is a victory as big as the Lone Star state altogether," said Abbott.

Manager A.J. Hinch also offered comment and was followed by ace Dallas Keuchel.

"Houston, we did it. These guys did it," said Hinch about his young team. He followed it up with thanks to the fans and the ownership.

"Houston — what the hell took us so long to win a World Series?" said Keuchel about the Astros, who were founded in 1962. The star pitcher made sure to thank pitcher Justin Verlander, who was not able to attend.

"We won this World Series together," Keuchel added.

George Springer, the MVP of the World Series, took the microphone after Keuchel.

"I just want to thank every single person here, every person in the city, every person in the state of Texas that believed in our team," said Springer.