However, Mikan met 28-year-old rookie DePaul basketball coach Ray Meyer, who saw potential in the bright and intelligent, but also clumsy and shy freshman.

He led the team in scoring in his rookie year and started the Wings ' climb back to the top.

With a spectacular offense led by quarterback Randall Cunningham ( who replaced an injured Brad Johnson ), running back Robert Smith, veteran wide receiver Cris Carter, and explosive rookie Randy Moss, the Vikings set a then-NFL record by scoring a total of 556 points, never scoring fewer than 24 in a game.

The Vikings proceeded to upset the dynamic Eagles offense, led by a resurgent Michael Vick, 24 – 14 with rookie Joe Webb at the helm.

Philadelphia also had a fine secondary, led by veteran defensive backs Herman Edwards ( 3 interceptions ) and Brenard Wilson ( 6 interceptions ), along with rookie Roynell Young ( 4 interception ).

Defensive back Mark Murphy led the NFL with 9 interceptions, while the other starters in the secondary, Vernon Dean, Anthony Washington and Ken Coffey, along with rookie cornerback Darrell Green, combined for 13 interceptions.

On defense, their three-man front was led by Pro Bowl defensive linemen Howie Long and Lyle Alzado, along with rookie Greg Townsend, who recorded 10. 5 sacks and a 66-yard fumble return touchdown.

The secondary was led by Pro Bowler Todd Lyght ( 6 interceptions ), Dexter McCleon ( 4 interceptions ), and rookie Dre ' Bly ( 3 interceptions ).

In the winter, the Red Sox traded right fielder Ben Chapman to the Cleveland Indians to make room for Williams on the roster, with Williams inheriting Chapman's number 9 on his uniform opposed to Williams ' number 5 in the previous spring training, even though Chapman had hit. 340 in the previous season, which led Boston Globe sports journalist Gerry Moore to quip, " Not since Joe DiMaggio broke in with the Yankees by " five for five " in St. Petersberg in 1936 has any baseball rookie received the nationwide publicity that has been accorded this spring to Theodore Francis Williams ".

He led the league in rushing in his rookie season and became the game's highest-paid player.

Also during his rookie year, he led the team with 46 receptions and set franchise records for total touchdowns ( 13 ) and total receiving touchdowns ( 12 ).

Jordan set franchise records during his rookie campaign for scoring ( 3rd in the league ) and steals ( 4th in the league ), and led the Bulls back to the playoffs, but lost in four games to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Since the team lost Harper, Wennington and Barry in the offseason, Brand and fellow rookie Ron Artest led the team throughout the year, especially after Kukoc missed most of the season due to injury and was then dealt for a draft pick at the trading deadline.

Chuck Person, nicknamed " The Rifleman " for his renowned long-range shooting, led the team in scoring as a rookie and won NBA Rookie of the Year honors.

He was claimed by the Celtics, the top team in the league that year, led by rookie superstar Larry Bird .< ref >

McMahon won the Bears ' starting quarterback job as a rookie, and was named to several All-Rookie teams when he nearly led the team to the playoffs, despite the NFL only playing two games before a players ' strike that cancelled nearly half the season.

Montoya qualified 2nd, led 167 laps and won the race going away, becoming the seventh Indy 500 rookie to win the race.

With their all-star out, rookie and Duke University standout Alana Beard led a depleted Mystics team to a surprising playoff appearance, the third playoff appearance in Mystics history.

That led to a road match against the Philadelphia Independence, which the Freedom lost on a goal from Amy Rodriguez in the waning seconds of overtime, wasting a superb performance from rookie backup goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris.

Lysiak led the Flames in scoring with 64 points and finished second to the Islanders ' Denis Potvin in voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's top rookie.

Gooden led the league in strikeouts, his 276 breaking Herb Score's rookie record of 245 in, and also set the record for most strikeouts in three consecutive starts with 43.

Signed by the Kansas City Athletics, he hit. 280, stole 37 bases, scored 108 runs, and led American League shortstops in putouts and errors in his rookie season.

His unit, beset by injuries and led by a rookie quarterback ( top draft pick Alex Smith ), finished the season ranked last in the NFL in points scored and yards gained.

Killebrew led the best offense in the league and rookie manager Billy Martin's Twins won the new American League West division as a result.

He led the American Football League in scoring as a rookie in 1960 with 123 points and in 1962 with 137 points.

Chicago then drove to the 3-yard line, but had to settle for another field goal from Butler after rookie defensive lineman William " Refrigerator " Perry was tackled for a 1-yard loss while trying to throw his first NFL pass on a halfback option play.

In, after three straight first-round defeats, and despite a fourth-place finish in their division in the regular season, Chicago made it to the Conference Final in the rookie seasons of both goalie Ed Belfour and center Jeremy Roenick.

He plays second base for the Chicago Cubs and was a starter for the Los Angeles Dodgers during the 2008 playoffs as a rookie.

With players such as Kevin Johnson, Dan Majerle, rookie Richard Dumas and the newly-acquired Charles Barkley and Danny Ainge, the Suns made it to the Finals in Westphal's first season as a coach, but eventually lost to the Chicago Bulls in six games.

" Doby roomed alone his rookie year, and in some cities, namely Chicago and St. Louis, was not allowed to stay in the same hotels as his white teammates.

Jack Elliot is an aging American baseball player put on the trading block by the New York Yankees in favor of a rookie first-baseman ( played by former Chicago White Sox player Frank Thomas ), and there's only one taker: the Nagoya Chunichi Dragons of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball.

In Chicago, Lang recorded 54 points playing behind rookie standouts Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane ; Lang finished fourth in team scoring.

He was also nominated for the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league's best rookie, alongside Chicago Blackhawks forward Eric Daze and Ottawa Senators forward Daniel Alfredsson, who won the award.

He was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 4th round of the baseball draft and began his professional career by recording a 0-9 record in 13 starts with the Huntington Cubs in the rookie leagues.

He became only the second major league rookie since 1900 to play 150 games as a teenager ; the first had been Bob Kennedy, also 19, with the Chicago White Sox in 1940.

From July 25 to August 16 he had a 22-game hitting streak, which was the longest for a rookie since Jerome Walton of the Chicago Cubs had a thirty game streak in.

Another episode " Damn Bundys " featured Al selling his soul to the devil ( played by Robert Englund ) in order to lead the Chicago Bears to the Super Bowl as the oldest rookie in NFL history ; Al scores the touchdown and ends up in hell with his family and neighbors for 300 years.

Since 1970, the Chicago Bears have also handed out an award by the same name to a rookie and ( since 1992 ) a veteran who " best exemplifies the courage, loyalty, teamwork, dedication and sense of humor " of Piccolo.

He led the Flames to a three-game sweep of Winnipeg, followed by seven-game series victories over the Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks to lead the Flames into the Stanley Cup Final where the Flames ultimately fell to the Montreal Canadiens and their rookie goaltender Patrick Roy in five games.

At 6 ft 0 in ( 230 lbs ( 104 kg ), Singletary became a starter in the Chicago Bears lineup in the seventh game of his rookie season ( 1981 ).

Meeker also played in the 1947 NHL All-Star Game and he also tied an NHL record for most goals by a rookie in one game with five goals against the Chicago Black Hawks.

Segares began his professional career with the Chicago Fire as a 2005 SuperDraft third round selection, and quickly proved himself during his rookie campaign.

* Mike Vail, 4th round MLB draft pick by the St Louis Cardinals, Outfielder for New York Mets, Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, Montreal Expos, and Los Angeles Dodgers, career. 279 hitter, set the rookie hit streak record at 23 games

After the 1982 season, the Dodgers traded Cey to the Chicago Cubs for two minor leaguers so that Pedro Guerrero could move to third base and rookie Mike Marshall could get in the Dodgers ' outfield.

Bentley appeared in 39 games in his rookie campaign with Chicago, scoring 12 goals and 19 points.

He was signed in 2005 by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted rookie free-agent, but was released during training

* Following the 1940 season, the Chicago Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America established an award recognizing the major leagues ' top rookie, selecting Lou Boudreau for the honor.

Drafted by the Chicago Bulls with the 33rd overall pick of the 2000 NBA Draft, he only played 16 games in his rookie season, averaging 1. 9 points and 2. 1 rebounds per game.

Spencer shared time with Kevin Long as the starting running back with Chicago and rushed for 1157 yards on 300 carries with 6 touchdowns in his rookie season.