Adidas

"we make a mean team, my Adidas and me
we get around together, rhyme forever"
-Run-D.M.C., from their album Raising Hell

History of Adidas 1920 - 1954
History of Adidas 1954 - 1992
History of Adidas 1992 - Present
Adidas Products Timeline
Did You Know? Trivia
Press Release: Adidas to Acquire Reebok

History of Adidas 1920 - 1954

Adidas, also known as adidas-Salomon AG (DAX:ADSG.DE), is a German sports apparel and athletic shoe brand that started humbly when founder Adi Dassler began producing athletic shoes in his mother's 20 square meter washroom in 1920. These first shoes, created for running and training, were made by hand without the aid of electricity. In 1924, Adi with the help of his brother and twelve other people, some of them family members, produced approximately 50 pairs of these handmade shoes per day. The Dassler brothers, Adi and Rudolf, registered their shoe company under the name "Dassler OHG". Adi and Rudi leased their first production facility in 1927, calling it "Dassler Brothers Sports Shoe Factory" where 25 people produce 100 pairs of shoes each day. Three years later, Adi Dassler bought the factory with a house on the adjoining plot of land. Dassler tennis shoes are introduced to the market in 1931, and in 1936, Dassler shoes begin their domination of Olympic sports when Jesse Owens wins four gold medals for track and field events at the Berlin Olympics while wearing Dassler shoes. As the most successful athlete in Berlin, he set new world records in all 12 of the events in which he competes. Also in 1936, Adi Dassler's son Horst was born. The death of Horst Dassler would later play a huge role in the course of the Adidas company and brand. Somehow, Adi Dassler's company and brand survived the Great Depression and World War II, factory seizures by the Nazis, financial crises and more to become on of the longest-lived brands in the world. In the early years of the Adidas brand:

• 1938 Adi bought a second production facility in the center of Herzogenaurach
• 1948 Adi and Rudolf decided to part ways. Rudolf Dassler founded Puma while Adi went on to found the company now known as Adidas. Soon after the brothers' separation, Adi Dassler registered the famous Three Stripes as his company's trademark and Adidas became the official company name. The three stripes were originally developed as a way to stabilize the midfoot, but soon became synonymous with the Adidas brand.
• 1952 Adidas was the most widely worn sports shoes brand at the Olympic Games in Helsinki, Finland. Emil Zatopek won three gold medals in one week while wearing Adidas shoes while his wife won the javelin competition. Zatopek won the 5,000m, the 10,000m, and the marathon. This achievement has never been repeated in or out of Adidas shoes.
• 1954 The German Nation Team won the Football (Soccer) World Cup for the first time, wearing Adidas shoes with revolutionary screw-in studs. In total, 450,000 pairs of shoes were produced in that year.

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