Over the past five years we North American sports fans have been treated to some remarkable rookie performances. There was the battle between Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin for the Calder trophy; Adrian Peterson’s impressive 1,760 yards of rushing; Ryan Braun’s 34 home runs and now, Blake Griffin’s dominating performance with the Clippers in which the power forward is averaging double-double figures for the season with 22 points per game and 12 rebounds.
As impressive as these rookie performances are, they fall a little short when considering great rookie season performances in the MLB, NHL, NBA and NFL.
To salute those outstanding freshman years here are the 10 most outstanding rookie seasons:

Eric Dickerson:
In his rookie season with the Los Angeles Rams, Dickerson managed to earn almost every individual accomplishment he could at his position, except for a league MVP award. The 1983 NFC Offensive MVP and NFL Rookie of the Year set new regular season rookie records for rushing yards (1,808), carries (390) and touchdowns (18), all of which still stand today. He also caught 51 balls for an additional 404 yards of offence that season. The former track star and SMU standout’s offensive performance helped catapult the Los Angeles Rams from a 2-7 record the previous NFL strike-shortened season into the playoffs. In Dickerson’s next season with the Rams he set the NFL’s current record for most rushing yards in a regular season with 2,105.
Wayne Gretzky:
If it weren’t for a number of NHL rules, the “Great One” could have claimed more hardware with his 137 points rookie season (1979-80) than he did. Because Gretzky had previously played in the WHA, he wasn’t eligible to win the Calder trophy. He was also in a close run for the Art Ross, being tied for points with Marcel Dionne, but since Dionne scored more goals than Gretzky he was rewarded with the trophy. Nonetheless, Gretzky was awarded with the Hart Trophy making him the first, first-year player at the time to win this award.
Ichiro Suzuki:
Regardless of Ichiro being 27 for his rookie year, the offensive numbers he was able to put in his first year in the majors with the Seattle Mariners were impressive. The AL’s Rookie of the Year, MVP, All-Star, Silver Slugger and Gold Glove winner also garnered an American League batting title, with his league-leading 242 hits and .350 batting percentage. Ichiro also led the league that year in stolen bases with 56 and his outstanding rookie performance helped propel the Mariners to a 116-win season to tie the MLB regular season record for most wins.
Wilt Chamberlain:
Wilt the Stilt had no problem transferring his dominant play at the collegiate level to the NBA as he demolished previous rookie records, averaging 37.6 points and 27 rebounds per game. Wilt easily won NBA Rookie of the Year in 1959-60 and snatched up the MVP honours, something only one other player has accomplished. Wilt took the Warriors from finishing eight games under .500 the previous season and improved their record to finish 23 games over .500 in his first year.
Teemu Selanne:
The Finnish Flash gave the NHL what was arguably one of the greatest rookie performances ever. In 1992-93 Selanne scored the fifth highest total of goals (76) in a regular season, demolishing Mike Bossy’s former rookie record for most goals in a season (53). In what was the league’s most exciting goal scoring race, he tied Alexander Mogilny for the Rocket Richard trophy. Selanne’s outstanding season earned him an All-Star invite and Calder Trophy.
Oscar Robertson:
The Big O was one of the game’s most versatile players of all-time, according to nba.com. He almost averaged a triple-double his rookie year with the Cincinnati Royals. This first overall pick in the 1960/61 NBA season averaged an amazing 30.5 points, 10.1 rebounds and 9.7 assists per game, earning himself NBA Rookie of the Year and his first of 12 straight NBA All-Star nominations.
Over Robertson’s 14-year career with the Royals and Milwaukee Bucks he managed to win an NBA Most Valuable Player Award in 1963/64 and a championship in 1971 with the Bucks. He also was selected to the All-NBA First Team for nine consecutive seasons and was also elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
 Tony Esposito:
The Chicago Blackhawks made out like bandits when they acquired Tony O from Montreal for only $25,000. In his rookie season with the Blackhawks in 1969-70 Esposito dominated between the pipes, setting the modern NHL record for most shutouts in a season with 15. His amazing 2.17 goals-against average and league-leading 38 wins earned him both a Calder and Vezina trophy, plus he was nominated to the All-Star Team. With Esposito in net, the Black Hawks managed to climb out of the basement in the East Division to the top, winning 11 more games than the previous year to claim their division.
 Barry Sanders:
A lot of people were skeptical about how effective Sanders would be in the NFL because of his lack of size but his speed, power and explosiveness more than made up for it. Behind a poor Detroit Lions offensive line in 1989 Sanders managed to average over 5.3 yards per carry, accumulating 1,470 rushing yards to go with his 14 touchdowns and 24 receptions to take home Rookie of the Year award from the league and Offensive Rookie of the Year award from the Associated Press.
Terry Sawchuk:
In an era when goalies didn’t have as much equipment as today and didn’t wear masks, you have to respect what Sawchuk was able to accomplish in his rookie year. In the 1950-51 NHL season Sawchuk was a machine for the Red Wings, playing in all 70 regular season games to lead the league in wins (44) and shutouts (11). Sawchuck’s impressive 1.99 goals averaged earned him a First-Team All-Star honour and his strong play was a big reason why the Red Wings compiled the league’s first 100-point season in history recording 101 points.
Lawrence Taylor:
Taylor was the only rookie to earn both defensive accolades: NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. It didn’t take long for LT to emerge as one of the game’s best defensive stars in 1981 as he racked up 9.5 sacks his rookie year with the Giants. The University of North Carolina alum took the G-men from a dismal 4-12 finish in 1980 to the playoffs.