Some sources report that Michigan had no season during 1917, others show Brandell was named the Captain, and that he was listed on the roster for that year.

He would return from the war and play baseball again, even showing up on the rolls of Philadelphia's national team.

On April 2 of 1919, however, he wired Jack Coombs to say he was quitting baseball "for keeps" and would return to his home and a new business opportunity in Anoka, Minnesota.

[11] According to the University records, after playing baseball, he became a sales representative for McLaughlin Gormley King Co. in Minneapolis.

Michigan's Alumnus magazine lists him as the Vice-President of the Cleary Hill Mines Company in Fairbanks, Alaska.