Born 128 years ago Monday — Sept. 28, 1887 — was Illini legend Avery Brundage. His greatest fame came from 1952 to 1972, when his served as president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Wrote Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Maraniss in his book titled “Rome 1960: The Olympics That Changed the World”: “I found Avery Brundage to be one of the most contradictory characters I’ve ever written about. He was not especially likeable, yet the fact that at some points in his career nearly every faction hated him for some reason or other seemed to me like a bit of a saving grace.