Adi Dassler, the Man Behind the Name

From Herzogenaurach, Germany to the American Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame, Adi Dassler's life work continues to inspire and support athletes around the globe.

Making his humble beginnings as a cobbler in Herzogenaurach, Germany, adidas founder Adolph Dassler built one of the world's most popular brands of sports shoes and apparel. Growing up in economically handicapped, post World War I Germany, Adolph, nicknamed Adi, joined his family in making and selling homemade house slippers to put food on the table. Adi's sister marked chalk patterns on leftover military bags, while Adi glued, sewed and nailed the shoes together. During these years, Adi Dassler received his first training in the craft of making shoes.

An avid soccer player, Dassler began producing training shoes in 1920 when he was only 20 years old. He later began to manufacture soccer, tennis and running shoes. To ensure that each shoe would be both safe and performance enhancing, Dassler used his own athletic experience and the input of doctors, trainers and coaches and other athletes to guide the design of his shoes.

"Dassler began producing training shoes in 1920 when he was only 20 years old."

As his experience grew, so did his reputation. Dassler became widely known as the "equipment manager of the world." His shoes were first worn in Olympic competition in 1928, and from then on he worked with everyone from Olympic athletes to national soccer teams. Some of history's greatest athletic performances are in debt to Dassler and his work. Jesse Owens wore adidas track shoes, during his spectacular Olympic performance in 1936, where he earned four gold medals. And Armin Hary was the first athlete to run the 100-m sprint in 10 seconds, also wearing adidas shoes. In 1949, Dassler created the first soccer shoe with molded rubber studs, adopting the trademark three stripes. The German National team triumphed in the 1954 World Cup wearing adidas soccer boots with screw-in studs, which enabled the game to be played under vastly different conditions without slipping. Hundreds of world records, Olympic medals, and World Cup victories stand as a testament to Adi Dassler's life work.

One of Dassler's goals in producing athletic shoes was to design them according to each sport's specific demands. Dassler's drive to fulfill this goal resulted in more than 700 patents. His long list of sport shoe innovations includes nylon soles and running spikes. He considered any material that might enhance the performance of his shoes. Dassler experimented with sharkskin as a sole material and kangaroo skin for the sides of his shoes.

"One of Dassler's goals in producing athletic shoes was to design them according to each sport's specific demands."

Whatever the athlete's needs, Dassler took them into consideration when designing a shoe. Gold medals, world records and personal athletic accomplishments are the true testaments to Dassler's shoes and the effectiveness of Adi's innovations. Recognizing the genius of Dassler's work, the American Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame inducted Dassler in 1978 as its first non-American member. Today the world refers to Dassler as the founder of the modern sporting goods industry.

Yet it was not Adi's creativity and mastery of shoe technology alone that catapulted adidas to the top of the athletic shoe industry. Dassler's wife, Kathe, and their five children all had a hand in the business. Horst, the Dasslers' first-born, perhaps made the most significant contribution to his father's company. While Adi's were creative talents, Horst had a head for marketing. With the combination of Dassler shoe quality and Horst's ability to market that quality, adidas was bound for success in the athletic shoe market.

"Today the world refers to Dassler as the founder of the modern sporting goods industry."

Today, the legacy of the Dassler family lives on in the design and manufacture of contemporary adidas products. The same meticulous attention is paid to athletes' evolving needs. adidas keeps abreast of sport technology, incorporating the most advanced materials into its shoes and apparel to ensure performance and safety. And the company's aggressive marketing strategy is aimed at communicating adidas quality to as large and athletic an audience as possible. Though times and technologies have changed, the goal of adidas today is the same as Adi Dassler's nearly 80 years ago: to be the best sports brand in the world.

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