15 Years of NHL '94 Classic

[Tickenest]

On Wednesday, 5 October 2005, the very first nhl94online.com Classic season kicked off. That makes the Fall 2020 Classic season the 15th anniversary season. It is simply stunning that the community has stuck together (even if old-timers like me went away for a long, long time...) for this long, as there is certainly no divinely ordained reason for this community to exist. So let's all thank Evan Eldredge once again for having the crazy idea back in the mid-2000s of devoting an *entire website and forums* to a decade-old video game and then the even crazier idea of organizing an online league. Tecmo Super Bowl did it first......but NHL '94 does it best.

[hokkeefan]

Evan Eldredge ...you da man !!!!

You made a lot of wives and girlfriends very cranky LOL

Where can we find any info on the first seasons?

 

[Tickenest]

I posted in the Facebook group earlier today but here are a few Wayback Machine links:

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20051224193612/http://www.nhl94online.com/ - The oldest archive for www.nhl94online.com on the site, it shows the (probably) final regular season results for the first season. Hah, first names instead of AIM nicknames.

https://web.archive.org/web/20060821055758/http://www.nhl94online.com/ - This one comes after the Spring 2006 league (kgman's debut and first win as well as the first SNES season) and before the Fall 2006 league. Things to note include 1) the announcement of a split into A and B leagues 2) Evan stating that we'll be using the regular ROM again because keeping up with 80 guys' trades would be too difficult (so there was discussion over allowing roster moves back in 2006) 3) the May 2006 announcement that the website was now database driven, meaning that you could manually enter scores into the website instead of posting them in the forums (save state processing came along much later...2013, I think).

https://web.archive.org/web/20060822045400/http://www.nhl94online.com/html/rules.shtml - rules for the Fall 2006 leagues. Notably, Evan included a reminder about good sportsmanship being expected.

https://web.archive.org/web/20070222124912/http://nhl94online.com/ - Fall 2006 results, including a couple of winners who are still around today.

[kingraph]

14 minutes ago, Tickenest said:

I posted in the Facebook group earlier today but here are a few Wayback Machine links:

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20051224193612/http://www.nhl94online.com/ - The oldest archive for www.nhl94online.com on the site, it shows the (probably) final regular season results for the first season. Hah, first names instead of AIM nicknames.

 

Marc, who was St. Louis finished the regular season with a 2.33 GAA.  That's amazing.

[hokkeefan]

Yeah that's cool to look back on all the old names .

I wonder where I was because I joined in February of 2006 but I wasn't in any leagues or maybe I was and then got booted/and banned for a year LOL

I do see in 2007 Evan put up a warning for people trash talking each other and he had enough of it

And that wasn't just me that was a bunch of people everyone was being a bit outrageous.

Edited November 23, 2020 by hokkeefan

[hokkeefan]

1 hour ago, Tickenest said:

I posted in the Facebook group earlier today but here are a few Wayback Machine links:

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20051224193612/http://www.nhl94online.com/ - The oldest archive for www.nhl94online.com on the site, it shows the (probably) final regular season results for the first season. Hah, first names instead of AIM nicknames.

https://web.archive.org/web/20060821055758/http://www.nhl94online.com/ - This one comes after the Spring 2006 league (kgman's debut and first win as well as the first SNES season) and before the Fall 2006 league. Things to note include 1) the announcement of a split into A and B leagues 2) Evan stating that we'll be using the regular ROM again because keeping up with 80 guys' trades would be too difficult (so there was discussion over allowing roster moves back in 2006) 3) the May 2006 announcement that the website was now database driven, meaning that you could manually enter scores into the website instead of posting them in the forums (save state processing came along much later...2013, I think).

https://web.archive.org/web/20060822045400/http://www.nhl94online.com/html/rules.shtml - rules for the Fall 2006 leagues. Notably, Evan included a reminder about good sportsmanship being expected.

https://web.archive.org/web/20070222124912/http://nhl94online.com/ - Fall 2006 results, including a couple of winners who are still around today.

All  I know is that it seemed a lot better back then and it seemed like everyone had a lot more fun.

I remember sitting up till 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning Pacific time and having multiple coaches available to play and during the days it was crazy!

Now the only person up really late at night is Dan who is probably the most dedicated player coach right now.

I guess everybody's a bunch of old sissies these days 

Edited November 23, 2020 by hokkeefan

[clockwise]

@HABS (TK11) won the first cup against @Tickenest. I arrived late, under a pseudonym, and was unable to get in that year.

@deadmeow (Jeff) locked down the ;94 section of the Gens Pro Sports forum down after what happened in one of the leagues. 
Shame since no one can unlock it, now. 

[Sauce]

22 hours ago, hokkeefan said:

Evan Eldredge ...you da man !!!!

You made a lot of wives and girlfriends very cranky LOL

Where can we find any info on the first seasons?

 

Amen!  However, some can be converted to the cause.  My wife, who met him and several others when we came to NYC event, saw (first hand) the passion and enthusiasm (and comraderie) for the forum/game.  While she still isn't thrilled about me playing the game or editing my roms late at night, I think she "gets it" now.  

I used to belong to a now defunct NHL2K site.  It was a blast getting to know other folks who shared a similar passion in addition to creating custom roster files.  This site, has been an even better experience.  Mainly, because I am far more pasionate about NHL94.  So, that said, thanks @Evanfor this site!

Edited November 24, 2020 by Sauce

[clockwise]

22 hours ago, hokkeefan said:

You made a lot of wives and girlfriends very cranky LOL

Was 23 when I signed up. I think I'm one of the last guys still here that didn't get married and have kids.

[clockwise]

Nice avatar bud 

[Sean]

2 hours ago, clockwise said:

Was 23 when I signed up. I think I'm one of the last guys still here that didn't get married and have kids.

I was 11 when I signed up in 2013, so I might have you beat in the long game.

Edited November 24, 2020 by seamor

[clockwise]

5 minutes ago, seamor said:

I was 11 when I signed up in 2013, so I might have you beat in the long game.

I mean, kids that I know of. However, Maury keeps leaving me voice mails to be on the show,

[Sean]

14 minutes ago, clockwise said:

I mean, kids that I know of. However, Maury keeps leaving me voice mails to be on the show,

Do it before Friday so you can namedrop the tournament. What's a lifetime of paycheck garnishment because of child support compared to the thrill of winning an even bigger tournament?

[Tickenest]

1 hour ago, clockwise said:

Nice avatar bud 

Where the fudge did you find that‽‽‽‽‽

[clockwise]

29 minutes ago, Tickenest said:

Where the fudge did you find that‽‽‽‽‽

https://gensports.proboards.com/board/23/nhl-94-main-forum

[Tickenest]

45 minutes ago, clockwise said:

https://gensports.proboards.com/board/23/nhl-94-main-forum

Permission denied.

[clockwise]

Just now, Tickenest said:

Permission denied.

I guessed my pw and got lucky.

[Tickenest]

Just now, clockwise said:

I guessed my pw and got lucky.

No I was actually able to recover my password somehow but the NHL '94 forums are "permission denied".

[clockwise]

11 minutes ago, Tickenest said:

No I was actually able to recover my password somehow but the NHL '94 forums are "permission denied".

Use mine:

u: clockwise
pw: nhl94wtga!

[chaos]

19 hours ago, clockwise said:

Use mine:

u: clockwise
pw: nhl94wtga!

Boo, only you can use your user name and password apparently.

I have one from when we ran SNES Dynasty league on there, but I can't access the gens sports forums for some reason

 

EDIT: Nevermind, clockwise's stuff worked. I was logging in to the wrong forum.

[Tickenest]

On 11/23/2020 at 2:58 PM, clockwise said:

@HABS (TK11) won the first cup against @Tickenest. I arrived late, under a pseudonym, and was unable to get in that year.

@deadmeow (Jeff) locked down the ;94 section of the Gens Pro Sports forum down after what happened in one of the leagues. 
Shame since no one can unlock it, now. 

You know actually I lost in the semifinals against tk11 the first season. I lost in the finals against kgman the second season. I don't know which is the greater regret, because I forget who was in the finals of season 1 but I probably would have won, while I probably would have won season 2 if I hadn't been the one who dragged kgman into our league in the first place!!!

[CoachMac]

@deadmeow

Does anyone know what happened to Jeff?

I know he was sick.  The last I know of him being around was when I was running 92 leagues in in 2015 and 2016.

He played in a couple of the seasons I ran.  We talked on AIM and played lots of 92 exis.

[clockwise]

33 minutes ago, CoachMac said:

@deadmeow

Does anyone know what happened to Jeff?

I know he was sick.  The last I know of him being around was when I was running 92 leagues in in 2015 and 2016.

He played in a couple of the seasons I ran.  We talked on AIM and played lots of 92 exis.

Nope, can’t say I do. 

Was in his 92 league back in 06.

Sent him a pm on his boards hopefully he responds and is doing well.

[naples39]

On 11/23/2020 at 1:23 PM, kingraph said:

Marc, who was St. Louis finished the regular season with a 2.33 GAA.  That's amazing.

Man, this stuff was a blast from the past. I think I did three seasons, and I really don't remember that first one with St. Louis at all.

I do remember season 2 I was the number one seed with Calgary but lost in the first round of the playoffs because kgman was a late replacement coach and he turned the league upside down.

I won my third season after that epic 7-game series in the finals against kgman, although I'll be the first to admit there's an asterisk on the title because I was using Chicago...

I guess I was 25 at the time and in law school. Of course then I retired from competitive play and switched the rom making side LOL.

Edited December 4, 2020 by naples39

[chaos]

19 hours ago, naples39 said:

Man, this stuff was a blast from the past. I think I did three seasons, and I really don't remember that first one with St. Louis at all.

I do remember season 2 I was the number one seed with Calgary but lost in the first round of the playoffs because kgman was a late replacement coach and he turned the league upside down.

I won my third season after that epic 7-game series in the finals against kgman, although I'll be the first to admit there's an asterisk on the title because I was using Chicago...

I guess I was 25 at the time and in law school. Of course then I retired from competitive play and switched the rom making side LOL.

This is great! Thanks for sharing your story with us bud. I didn't know you were Marc. 

I started in Fall 2007 SNES B. 

It's great to see so many original guys still around in some shape or form.