He was consistent in his application of amateurism rules across the board — he made enemies everywhere by his rigidity — but his specific resistance to Thorpe’s reinstatement, and the length of time that resistance could be maintained while he held power, was part of what made the campaign so long and so difficult.

His retirement from the IOC in 1972, after his handling of the murder of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics drew widespread condemnation, effectively ended the most significant institutional obstacle to Thorpe’s reinstatement.

The AAU voted to restore Thorpe’s amateur status the following year.

The campaign that culminated in the 1982 IOC decision to restore his honors was able to proceed, partly, because the man who had blocked it longest was no longer in a position to block it.

The Specific Records That Were Broken By Time Itself