Adolf "Adi" Dassler was born in Nov. 3, 1900 in Herzogenaurach, Germany and died in Sep. 6, 1978 in Herzogenaurach, West Germany.
Adi Dassler was the founder of the German sportswear company Adidas. He started to produce his own sports shoes in his mother's wash kitchen after his return from World War I.
Adi Dassler started making shoes in their mother's laundry, but at the time, electricity supplies in the town were unreliable, and his brothers sometimes had to use pedal power from a stationary bicycle to run their equipment.
His father, Christoph, who worked in a shoe factory, and the brothers Zehlein, who produced the handmade spikes for track shoes in their blacksmith's shop, supported Dassler in starting his own business. In 1924, his older brother Rudolf Dassler joined the business, which became the Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik (Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory).
At the 1928 Olympics, Dassler equipped several athletes, laying the foundation for the international expansion of the company. During the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Dassler equipped Jesse Owens of the USA with his shoes. Jesse Owens won four gold medals in the year he wore Adi's shoes.
With the rise of Adolf Hitler in the 1930s, both Dassler brothers joined the Nazi Party, with Rudolf reputed as being the more ardent National Socialist. By 1948, the rift between the brothers widened. Rudolf left the company to found Puma on the other side of town. In 1973, Adolf Dassler's son Horst Dassler founded Arena, a producer of swimming equipment. After Adolf Dassler's death in 1978, Horst and his wife Käthe took over the management. Horst died nine years later, in 1987. Adidas was transformed into a private limited company in 1989, but remained family property until its IPO in 1995.
Adidas Besides sports footwear, the company also produces other products such as bags, shirts, watches, eyewear and other sports and clothing related goods. The company is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe and the second biggest sportswear manufacturer in the world, after its U.S. rival NIKE.
One of the main focuses of Adidas is football kit and associated equipment. Adidas also provides apparel and equipment for all teams in Major League Soccer. Adidas remain a major company in the supply of team kits for international football teams.
Adidas also makes referee kits that are used in international competition and by many countries and leagues in the world. In the United States, referees wear the Adidas kits in MLS matches even though the primary referee supplier is Official Sports.
The company has been an innovator in the area of footwear for the sport with notable examples including development of the Copa Mundial moulded boot used for matches on firm dry pitches for almost forty years. The studded equivalent was named World Cup follow in celebration of the 1978 tournament won by Argentina, one of the nations it supplied at the time. Some of the most famous football teams currently sponsored by Adidas.
FIFA, the world governing body of football, commissioned specially designed footballs for use in its own World Cup tournaments to favour more attacking play. The balls supplied for the 2006 World Cup, the Teamgeist, were particular noteworthy for their ability to travel further than previous types when struck, leading to longer range goal strikes that were intended to increase the number of goals scored.
Goalkeepers were believed to be less comfortable with the design, claiming it would move significantly and unpredictably in flight. Adidas also introduced another new ball for the 2010 World Cup. The Jabulani ball was designed and developed by Loughborugh University in conjunction with Chelsea FC. It received much criticism from players, managers and pundits for being too hard to control.
The lighter and more aerodynamic ball led to many shots and passes being over hit. The Jabulani was widely blamed for the low numbers of long range goals or even remotely accurate attempts in the opening stage of the tournament.
Adidas
The company has been an innovator in the area of footwear for the sport with notable examples including development of the Copa Mundial moulded boot used for matches on firm dry pitches for almost forty years. The studded equivalent was named World Cup follow in celebration of the 1978 tournament won by Argentina, one of the nations it supplied at the time. Some of the most famous football teams currently sponsored by Adidas.
