Justin Thompson: Detroit Tigers

One-Year Wonders

A former first-round pick, Thompson looked like he was going to live up to the hype in 1997. He won 15 games, had an ERA of 3.02, and made the All-Star team. The 24-year-old looked like a star in the making. He wasn't. The next year, his ERA went up a run and in 1999 it went up another run, at which point he was traded to the Rangers and sent to the minors. He resurfaced for two relief appearances in 2005, and then was gone for good. —Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

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One-Year Wonders... There are some athletes who excel at their sports for decades. Nolan Ryan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Brett Favre all put up impressive numbers year after year, decade after decade.
But there are some athletes who have just one incredible season. Some of them are rookies who never realize their potential, others get injured, and some are journeymen who somehow pull it all together for one magical season.
Here are some athletes who for one year soared with their respective sports' superstars, but who never reached those hallowed heights again. —By Johnny Goodtimes, Xfinity.com Sports (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

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Jerome James: Se... Not so much a one-year wonder as a one-month wonder, the bit player came up big in the 2005 playoffs. Facing the Kings and the Spurs, James averaged over 12 points per game (PPG), tripling his regular season output, and making Knicks GM Isiah Thomas think that he would be well worth signing to a max contract. The deal was widely mocked and the mocking was quickly justified. James was a dud, averaging less than 3 PPG in his 3-plus seasons in New York. —Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

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Tommy Maddox: Pi... An inspirational story, no doubt, but a one-year wonder nonetheless. Maddox was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the first round of the 1992 draft. It was a questionable pick, seeing as how they had a quarterback at the time by the name of Elway. In two seasons, Maddox started four games — lost all four — and began a journeyman career that included stops in New York, Los Angeles and the XFL. In 2001, after six seasons out of the NFL, he was signed by the Steelers. When Kordell Stewart got injured in 2002, Maddox stepped in and guided the team to a 10-5-1 record and a playoff win. He was named the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year. The next year, Maddox struggled, and after that season the Steelers selected Ben Roethlisberger in the first round of the draft. “Big Ben” was a rookie sensation and Maddox was relegated to backup duty for the remainder of his career. —Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Roberto Borea)

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Troy Hudson: Min... Here's another guy who is an inspiration as much as a one-year wonder. Hudson wasn't drafted out of Southern Illinois University, but after kicking around the league with three different teams, he found a home in Minnesota for the 2002-03 season, averaging 14.2 points and 5.7 assists. Furthermore, he came up huge against the Lakers in the playoffs, averaging over 23 ppg and scoring 37 in a memorable Game 2 win. The Lakers won the series, however, and Hudson never averaged more than 9.5 ppg again. —Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt)

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Steve Beuerlein:... Beuerlein bounced around the league, and when the Panthers signed him in 1996, they became his fifth team in eight years. After two forgettable seasons, he turned in a magical '99 campaign. At the age of 34, Beuerlein had the greatest passing season in Panthers history, throwing for 4,436 yards, tossing 36 TDs with only 15 interceptions. Alas, it wasn't enough to lead the Panthers to a winning record, and after a mediocre 2000, he ended his career as a backup in Denver. —Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

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Ickey Woods: Cin... There were two rookies whose exuberance, talent and quick smiles captured America in the 1980s. One was William “The Fridge” Perry, the other was Ickey Woods. The Bengals fullback burst onto the scene with an incredible rookie year in 1988, rushing for over 1,000 yards and 15 TDs. Furthermore, he electrified the nation with a goofy sideline dance known as the “Ickey Shuffle.” Sadly, he blew out his ACL in the second game of the 1989 season, and never was the same. —Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Maribeth Joeright)

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Barry Foster: Pi... After two seasons on the Steelers bench, Barry Foster got the starting nod in 1992 and looked like the second coming of Franco Harris. He ran for a team record 1,690 yards and scored 11 TDs. His 12 100-yard games tied the record set by Eric Dickerson a few years earlier. Injuries hampered him in 1993 and 1994, and despite a few flashes of his former brilliance, he retired in 1995. —Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Tom Uhlman)

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Dana Barros: Phi... In an example of how role players can become stars on bad teams, Barros went from a bench warmer on a great Seattle team to an All-Star and 20 ppg scorer on the miserable 1994-95 Sixers. He tested the free agent waters after that big season and signed a healthy contract with the Celtics, where he became a steady contributor, but never came close to the numbers he compiled in Philly. —Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

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Mark Fidrych: De... In 1976, “The Bird” was to baseball what “The Fridge” was to football a decade later, a rookie sensation who captured the hearts of not just the hometown fans, but of the whole nation. He would talk to the ball between pitches, get on his knees and groom the mound and, most importantly, won games, going 19-9 with a 2.34 ERA. Sadly, he tore his rotator cuff in 1977. It went undiagnosed, and he never regained his form. He only won 10 games after his rookie year. —Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo)

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Justin Thompson:... A former first-round pick, Thompson looked like he was going to live up to the hype in 1997. He won 15 games, had an ERA of 3.02, and made the All-Star team. The 24-year-old looked like a star in the making. He wasn't. The next year, his ERA went up a run and in 1999 it went up another run, at which point he was traded to the Rangers and sent to the minors. He resurfaced for two relief appearances in 2005, and then was gone for good. —Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

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Paul Abbot: Seat... In his first seven seasons in the majors, pitcher Paul Abbott won a grand total of 21 games. But in 2001, the 33-year-old Abbot came out of nowhere to go 17-4 and helped lead the Mariners to an unbelievable 116 wins. After that magical season, Abbott was rewarded with a 3.4 million-dollar contract, and promptly went out and won a grand total of one game before being dropped by the Mariners. He would play for three more teams, earn four more wins, and be out of baseball three years after his magical 2001 season. —Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

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Joe Charboneau: ... In 1980, a rookie named Joe Charboneau electrified the city of Cleveland. Not only did he hit 23 home runs, knock in 87 runs and earn Rookie of the Year honors, his off-field eccentricities solidified his legend. There were tales of him drinking beer through his nose, being a direct descendant of Sacagawea's husband and fixing a broken nose with a pair of pliers and a few shots of Jack Daniels. The legend was short lived, however, as he injured his back in spring training the next year, was demoted to the minors in his sophomore season, and was out of baseball by 1982. —Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)

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Pete Myers: Chic... Who replaced Michael Jordan at shooting guard when Jordan decided to play baseball? The answer is Pete Myers, and the year after Jordan retired was by far Myers' best as a pro. Of course, his numbers weren't quite Jordan-esque. Myers averaged 7.9 ppg, almost three points higher than his previous career-high. Once Jordan returned, Myers was sent packing. He'd return to the Bulls as an assistant coach in 2001, a job he would hold until 2010. —Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

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