At 

Stockholm, Brundage finished sixth in the pentathlon and 16th in the decathlon.[9] Far behind on

points, after eight events he dropped out of the decathlon, which he always regretted. He later
moved up one spot in the standings in each event when his fellow American, Jim Thorpe, who had
won both events, was disqualified after it was shown that he had played semi-professional baseball:
this meant Thorpe was considered a professional, not an amateur as was required for Olympic
participation. Throughout his tenure as president, Brundage refused to ask the IOC to restore
Thorpe's medals despite advocacy by Thorpe supporters. The committee eventually did so in 1982,
after the deaths of both men. Brundage's refusal led to charges that he held a grudge for being
beaten in Stockholm.[10][11][12]
Upon his return to Chicago, Brundage accepted a position as construction superintendent for John
Griffith and Sons Contractors. Among the structures he worked on for Griffith were the Cook County
Hospital, the Morrison Hotel, the Monroe Building, and the National Biscuit Company warehouse. In
1915, he struck out on his own in construction, founding the Avery Brundage Company, of which his
uncle Edward was a director.[13] Brundage continued his athletic career as well. He was US all-
around champion in 1914, 1916, and 1918. Once he had ceased to be a track star, he took
up handball. As a young man, he was ranked in the top ten in the country and even in 1934, at the
age of 46, he won one game out of two against Angelo Trulio, who had recently been the US
national champion.[14]