Adidas
1920
Adi Dassler makes his first shoe in his workshop in Herzogenaurach near Nuremberg in Germany. The shoe made of canvas was a training shoe for runners and cost two reichsmarks. Adi Dassler followed three guiding principles in his development work: produce the best shoe for the requirements of the sport, protect the athlete from injury, and make the product durable.
1925.
Adi Dassler develops the first special shoes for soccer and track & field. For the first time shoes with studs and spikes are introduced. He also constructs different shoes for the different distances and uses state-of-the-art materials to achieve a saving in weight.
1928
Adi Dassler's shoes are worn at the Olympic Games for the first time. Adi Dassler takes care of "his" athletes in Amsterdam and strives to optimize the respective shoes, working closely with athletes.
1931
Adi Dassler makes his first tennis shoes.
1932
At the Los Angeles Olympic Games Arthur Jonath takes the bronze in the 100 m in Dassler shoes.
1936
The Olympic Games in Berlin are the sporting highlight for Jesse Owens. He sets new bests in almost all of the twelve events in which he competes. The black US-American is the most successful athlete in Berlin, winning four gold medals.
1937
Adi Dassler's range now comprises 30 different shoes for a total of eleven sports.
1946
The first Adi Dassler sports shoes produced after the war are made using canvas and rubber from American fuel tanks.
1947
Birth of the Salomon brand: a French family sets up an atelier in Annecy where they produce skis.
1948
Adi Dassler starts up production again, with 47 workers. He takes the first two syllables of his first and last name as the name for his products. And he gives his shoes an unmistakable identifying symbol: the Three Stripes.
1949
The Three Stripes are registered as an adidas trademark. Adi Dassler focuses his efforts on new soccer shoes. He produces his first shoes with moulded rubber studs.
1950
The first of the "Samba" all-round soccer shoes are launched on the market. The Samba continues to be regarded as the classic all-round training shoe today.
1952
Adidas is the most widely worn German sports shoe brand at the Olympic Games in Helsinki. For the first time track shoes with removable spikes are used. Emil Zatopek wins three gold medals in one week, in adidas shoes. He triumphs in the 5,000 m and 10,000 m and in the marathon. An achievement that has not been repeated since. The first adidas sports bags are introduced.
1954
The German team wins the World Cup for the first time. Adi Dassler is at the game in Berne; at half-time he adapts the players' shoes to the ground conditions, using screw-in studs. The soccer shoe worn in the Final in Berne is later called "World Champion".
1957
Development of the first nylon half-soles for sprint shoes.
1960
At the Olympic Games in Rome, 75 percent of all track & field athletes rely on adidas shoes. Wilma Rudolph, who suffered from polio as a child, takes the gold in the 100 m and 200 m and in the 4x100 m relay. To mark the Olympic Games, the "Rom" training shoe is launched. Today, this classic is one of the top trend shoes and is now being produced again in small quantities.
1962
Adidas shoes dominate the Soccer World Cup in Chile. They are worn in all 32 games.
1963
The first adidas balls are developed and produced.
1964
Adidas presents the lightest track shoe ever made. The "Tokio 64" weighs just 135 grams per shoe. At the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Willi Holdorf is the first German to take gold in the decathlon.
1967
The first adidas sports apparel is produced - with the ever popular Three Stripes, of course.
1968
Adidas athletes also dominate the Olympic Games in Mexico. Dick Fosbury clears 2.24 m with a new high jump technique and takes the gold medal. adidas is the first company in the world to produce injection-moulded multi-stud soles of polyurethane, giving a one-year guarantee on the sole. The first jogging shoe, "Achill", is launched.
1970
In Mexico an adidas ball, the "Telstar", is the official ball at a Soccer World Cup for the first time. Right up until the present day, all goals at major soccer events are scored with adidas balls.
1971
Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier face each other in the "Fight of the Century". Both wear special boxing boots developed by Adi Dassler.
1972
The German team wins the European Soccer Championship in adidas shoes. At the Olympic Games in Munich, Ulrike Meyfarth wins her first Olympic gold in the high jump. The "Adilette" is introduced, still one of the classics in the adidas range today.
1974
Following on the European Championship title, the German team wins the World Cup again. The first adidas tennis rackets are launched.
1976
Alberto Juan Torena wins gold in the 400m and 800m at the Olympic Games in Montreal becoming the first athlete to win both the 400m and 800m. The "TRX" jogging shoe is introduced. adidas also sets the pace in the winter sports sector, with newly developed X-country ski bindings.
1978
All goals at the Soccer World Cup in Argentina are scored with the "Tango", the official matchball. Adi Dassler dies at the age of 78. His son Horst carries on the adidas heritage.
1979
The "Copa Mundial", the world's best-selling soccer shoe ever, is launched.
1980
The German team wins the European Soccer Championship for the second time, outfitted from head to toe in adidas.