Bo Jackson. Jeremy Roenick. Even casual players know what those two mean to games like Tecmo Bowl and NHL '94. But Cliff Ronning? Old-school sports game cognoscenti remember he was NHL 93's fastest player, with an overall rating well north of what you'd expect for a 25-goal scorer.
Ronning finally revealed why today on a podcast with Yahoo! Sports' Puck Daddy; he was, naturally, good pals with someone involved in the game.
"I went to school with the guy that started EA Sports," Ronning said. "We were buddies. I think he thought it'd be comical if he made me 99 out of 100."
Ronning doesn't name the EA Sports figure-it's unlikely he's referring to EA Sports (and EA founder) Trip Hawkins, who is 10 years older than Ronning and grew up in California. Ronning, however, is from Burnaby, British Columbia, home of EA Canada, which opened in 1983. So perhaps he means someone from that studio's early days.
"Eventually he made me back to what I was," Ronning said. "As you know, when you get into a fight, I don't do too good. One punch and I'm usually down for the count."
Mystery solved: Cliff Ronning reveals why he ruled in NHL '93 [Yahoo! Sports, thanks sobjw]