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Adidas was founded in 1924 in Germany by two bothers Adi and Rudolf Dassler. Originally as “Dassler Brothers Sports Shoe Factory“, the companies' first sport shoes, made from the few materials available in the difficult post-war period, was produced from canvas and were designed for tennis in 1925. The success of these shoes with athletes led the two brothers to develop specific shoes for specific sports.
A passionate athlete himself, Adi Dassler was in close contact with sports participants and was always present in person at important sports events. Adi Dassler focused his work on the classic disciplines of track and field. Athletes wore special shoes from his workshop for the first time at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam.
In the mid 1920s he was already experimenting with spikes. In the mid 1930s Adi Dassler was already making 30 different shoes for eleven sports, and he had a workforce of almost 100 employees. In less than two decades adidas advanced to become the world’s leading sports shoe manufacturer.
However, in 1948 Rudolf Dassler leaves to start his own company. He moved to the other side of town and developed Puma shoes. Adi developed the Adidas name that we know today, combining his nickname with the first syllable of his last name. Once Rudolf left his brother came up with the famous three stripes logo and changed the name to Adidas. Originally the 3 stripes were created to keep the foot stable, but ended up being the logo.
The breakthrough came for Adidas when Germany won the Soccer World Cup in 1954. In the legendary Final against Hungary, the German team wore boots with screw-in studs – by adidas. From the mid 1960s, adidas also started producing apparel for competition and training. Ball production began in 1963, and ever since 1970 the Official Matchball at all major soccer events has been an adidas product.
Adi Dassler died in 1978, at the age of 78. Under his son´s guidance, adidas became a global leader in the sector of innovations in sports marketing.
Later down the road a hip-hop group named Run-DMC came and put Adidas on another level just like Jordan did for Nike, and the rest is HISTORY!
Adolf Dassler was inspired by a single idea when he made his first shoes in 1920, at the age of just 20. His vision was to provide every athlete with the best footwear for his respective discipline. It was this principle that guided him right up until his death. 700 patents and other industrial property rights worldwide are proof of his permanent quest for perfection.
Many famous athletes such as Jesse Owens, Muhammad Ali, Max Schmeling, Sepp Herberger and Franz Beckenbauer counted themselves among the friends of the Dassler Family.
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