Adolf Dassler
German entrepreneur, founder of Adidas shoe company (1900-1978) · Germany · Founders · Died at 77
Adolf Dassler is read about 1,657 times a day, in 47 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 15 October 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 390 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?The cobbler who turned athlete endorsements into empire. Adolf Dassler built Adidas from a family shoe factory, pioneering the concept that a runner's choice could sell millions of pairs - then watched his own brother become his fiercest rival.
Also in Deutsch
Photos 7
Awards
Family
Is this everyone?
Only relatives with a profile here are drawn, so a family can be larger than this. A line here can also be wrong.
Correct this familyAbout this person
Adolf Dassler was born on 3 November 1900 in Germany and trained as a cobbler. He started Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik, and his brother Rudolf joined the business in 1924. The partnership fractured after World War II; in 1948 the brothers split and each launched a competing sportswear company - Adolf founded Adidas, Rudolf founded Puma. Dassler's real edge was design innovation and a then-novel strategy: securing endorsements from athletes to move product. By the time he died on 6 September 1978, Adidas operated seventeen factories and pulled in a billion Deutschmarks a year.
Fame.am measures public visibility signals. It does not measure human value, talent, morality, or credibility.