21 Facts About Adolf Dassler

1.

Adolf "Adi" Dassler was a German cobbler, inventor and entrepreneur who founded the German sportswear company Adidas.

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2.

Adolf Dassler was the younger brother of Rudolf Dassler, founder of Puma.

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3.

Adolf Dassler was an innovator in athletic shoe design and one of the early promoters who obtained endorsements from athletes to drive sale of his products.

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4.

Adolf Dassler became quite adept at modifying available devices to help mechanize production in the absence of electricity.

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5.

Adolf Dassler produced one of the earliest spiked shoes, with spikes forged by the smithy of the family of his friend Fritz Zehlein.

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6.

Adolf Dassler constantly experimented with various materials to create strong but lightweight shoes.

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7.

The Adolf Dassler brothers did not fail to see how their economic interest would benefit from politics; all three Adolf Dassler brothers joined the Nazi Party on 1 May 1933—three months after Hitler was appointed Chancellor.

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8.

Adolf Dassler became a frequent house guest of Martz, who permitted Adolf Dassler's attentions to his fifteen-year-old daughter, Kathe Martz.

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9.

Adolf Dassler's would have frequent run-ins with Adi's parents and Rudolf and his wife, all of whom lived in the same house.

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10.

Adolf Dassler saw the 1936 Berlin Olympics as the key springboard for international exposure.

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11.

Adolf Dassler found his way to meeting Owens and wordlessly offered his shoes to the American star.

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12.

The Adolf Dassler firm was permitted to operate, but its production was severely curtailed.

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13.

Fritz Adolf Dassler, who was not on speaking terms with Adi, made a similar decision laying off a teenaged seamstress who worked for his lederhosen-turned-army-pouch manufacturer, but had worked previously for four years for Adi.

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14.

Adolf Dassler noted that both Rudolf's wife and his brother Adi testified that Rudolf worked for the Gestapo.

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15.

Adolf Dassler claimed that his brother had falsely denounced him and that Adi had made political speeches to employees at the plant.

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16.

Adolf Dassler fell upon the idea of coloring the straps used for reinforcement on the sides of the shoes a different color than the shoes themselves.

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17.

Adolf Dassler experimented with different numbers of straps and ultimately decided on three.

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18.

In March 1949 Adolf Dassler registered the three stripe logo as the company's trademark.

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19.

Adolf Dassler learned of 18 year old Fritz Walter in 1938 and began grooming him for the team.

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20.

Adolf Dassler was married to Kathe until his death from heart failure in 1978.

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21.

In 2006, a sculpture of Adolf Dassler was unveiled in the Adi Adolf Dassler Stadium in Herzogenaurach.

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