Avery Brundage | |
|---|---|
 Brundage in 1964 | |
| 5th President of the International Olympic Committee | |
| In office August 15, 1952 – September 11, 1972 | |
| Preceded by | Sigfrid Edström |
| Succeeded by | Lord Killanin |
| Life Honorary President of the IOC | |
| In office September 11, 1972 – May 8, 1975 | |
| Preceded by | Vacant, last held by Sigfrid Edström (1964) |
| Succeeded by | Vacant, next held by Lord Killanin (1980) |
| First Vice President of the IOC | |
| In office 1946–1952 | |
| Preceded by | Sigfrid Edström (from 1942 to 1946 acted as IOC President) |
| Succeeded by | Armand Massard |
| Second Vice President of the IOC | |
| In office 1945–1946 | |
| Preceded by | Office created |
| Succeeded by | Vacant, next held by Lord Burghley (1954) |
| Member of the International Olympic Committee | |
| In office July 30, 1936 – September 11, 1972 | |
| Preceded by | Ernest Lee Jahncke |
| President of the United States Olympic Committee | |
| In office 1928 (as President of the American Olympic Committee) – 1953 | |
| Preceded by | Douglas MacArthur |
| Succeeded by | Kenneth L. Wilson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 28, 1887 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | May 8, 1975 (aged 87) Garmisch-Partenkirchen, West Germany |
| Resting place | Rosehill Cemetery |
| Spouses | Elizabeth Dunlap
(m. 1927; died 1971)Mariann Charlotte Katharina Stefanie, Princess Reuss
(m. 1973) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | University of Illinois |
| Profession |
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| Signature |  |
Avery Brundage (/ˈeɪvri ˈbrʌndɪdʒ/; September 28, 1887 – May 8, 1975) was the fifth president of the International Olympic Committee, serving from 1952 to 1972, the only American and only non-European to attain that position. Brundage is remembered as a zealous advocate of amateurism and for his involvement with the 1936 and 1972 Summer Olympics, both held in Germany.
Brundage was born in Detroit in 1887 to a working-class family. When he was five years old, his father moved his family to Chicago and subsequently abandoned his wife and children. Raised mostly by relatives, Brundage attended the University of Illinois to study engineering and became a track star. He competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics, where he participated in the pentathlon and decathlon, but did not win any medals; both events were won by teammate Jim Thorpe. He won national championships in track three times between 1914 and 1918 and founded his own construction business. He earned his wealth from this company and from investments, and never accepted pay for his involvement in sports.
Following his retirement from athletics, Brundage became a sports administrator and rose rapidly through the ranks in United States sports groups. As leader of America's Olympic organizations, he fought zealously against a boycott of the 1936 Summer Olympics, which had been awarded to Germany before the rise of the Nazi regime and its escalating persecution of Jews. Brundage successfully prevented a US boycott of the Games, and he was elected to the IOC that year. He quickly became a major figure in the Olympic movement and was elected IOC president in 1952.
As President of the American Olympic Committee, Brundage fought strongly for amateurism and against the commercialization of the Olympic Games, even as these stands increasingly came to be seen as incongruous with the realities of modern sports. The advent of the state-sponsored athlete of the Eastern Bloc countries further eroded the ideology of the pure amateur, as it put the self-financed amateurs of the Western countries at a disadvantage. The 1972 Summer Olympics at Munich, West Germany, were his final Games as president of the IOC. The event was marred by tragedy and controversy when eleven Israeli team members were murdered by Palestinian terrorists. At the memorial service, Brundage decried the politicization of sports and refused to cancel the remainder of the Olympics, declaring "the Games must go on." Although those in attendance applauded Brundage's statement, his decision to continue the Games has since been harshly criticized, and his actions in 1936 and 1972 seen as evidence of antisemitism. In retirement, Brundage married his second wife, a German princess. He died in 1975 at age 87.