For Kids
The story of adidas is essentially the story of Adolf Dassler, the creator and founder of the sports goods company. His idea was to provide athletes with the optimal equipment for their sport. What started out in 1920 in a small workshop as a three-man business in the Franconian town of Herzogenaurach is now the largest brand in world football.
Born on 3 November 1900 in Herzogenaurach, Adolf Dassler trained as a baker on the urgings of his father. However, the outbreak of World War I shortly after his apprenticeship meant he was unable to practice the skills he had learned. When he returned from the war in 1919, the then 19-year-old did not want to work as a baker and decided to pursue his dream of being a shoemaker.
Dassler’s mother’s old laundry was promptly converted into a modest 20-square-metre workshop. But the sports fanatic would need to be highly inventive to work in the difficult post-war years, with no machines, electricity or suitable materials available.
Initially, Dassler’s business resembled that of any other shoemaker’s, but he never game up his dream and passion to develop shoes specifically for sport. After a difficult period of inflation and unemployment, Adolf’s brother Rudolf joined the business in 1924. As a trained salesman, Rudolf was primarily responsible for administrative tasks, while Adolf concentrated on development and production
The brothers founded the ‘Dassler Brothers’ (Sport) Shoe Factory’ in 1924, initially employing just 12 workers. Toiling around the clock from their expanded workshop, the brothers and their staff managed to produce 50 shoes per day. In 1925, Dassler obtained his first patents: one for a running shoe with hand-forged spikes, and another for a football boot with nailed leather studs.
The Dassler brothers continued to consolidate their athletics lines, providing footwear for many competitors at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam. At the Los Angeles Games in 1932, German Arthur Jonath became the first athlete to win a medal wearing Dassler shoes when he claimed bronze in the 100m sprint – the ultimate endorsement for the enterprising brothers. At the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, athletes wearing Dassler shoes won no fewer than 40 gold medals, including four by the legendary American athlete Jesse Owens.
However, the outbreak of World War II almost spelt the end for the Dassler shoe factory. The plant was seized by the German military and the two brothers drafted into the army along with many of their employees. Only Adolf Dassler was allowed to return home a year later to manufacture goods for the German military.
The story of adidas is essentially the story of Adolf Dassler, the creator and founder of the sports goods company. His idea was to provide athletes with the optimal equipment for their sport. What started out in 1920 in a small workshop as a three-man business in the Franconian town of Herzogenaurach is now the largest brand in world football.
Born on 3 November 1900 in Herzogenaurach, Adolf Dassler trained as a baker on the urgings of his father. However, the outbreak of World War I shortly after his apprenticeship meant he was unable to practice the skills he had learned. When he returned from the war in 1919, the then 19-year-old did not want to work as a baker and decided to pursue his dream of being a shoemaker.
Dassler’s mother’s old laundry was promptly converted into a modest 20-square-metre workshop. But the sports fanatic would need to be highly inventive to work in the difficult post-war years, with no machines, electricity or suitable materials available.
Initially, Dassler’s business resembled that of any other shoemaker’s, but he never game up his dream and passion to develop shoes specifically for sport. After a difficult period of inflation and unemployment, Adolf’s brother Rudolf joined the business in 1924. As a trained salesman, Rudolf was primarily responsible for administrative tasks, while Adolf concentrated on development and production
The brothers founded the ‘Dassler Brothers’ (Sport) Shoe Factory’ in 1924, initially employing just 12 workers. Toiling around the clock from their expanded workshop, the brothers and their staff managed to produce 50 shoes per day. In 1925, Dassler obtained his first patents: one for a running shoe with hand-forged spikes, and another for a football boot with nailed leather studs.
The Dassler brothers continued to consolidate their athletics lines, providing footwear for many competitors at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam. At the Los Angeles Games in 1932, German Arthur Jonath became the first athlete to win a medal wearing Dassler shoes when he claimed bronze in the 100m sprint – the ultimate endorsement for the enterprising brothers. At the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, athletes wearing Dassler shoes won no fewer than 40 gold medals, including four by the legendary American athlete Jesse Owens.
However, the outbreak of World War II almost spelt the end for the Dassler shoe factory. The plant was seized by the German military and the two brothers drafted into the army along with many of their employees. Only Adolf Dassler was allowed to return home a year later to manufacture goods for the German military.
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