Today Is August 18

Today is the anniversary of the founding of the German multinational corporation Adidas.

An Adidas Store in Vaughan Mills

Trained as a cobbler, Adolf Dassler started to produce his own sports shoes in his mother's laundry after his return from World War I. On July 1, 1924, his older brother Rudolf Dassler joined the business, which became the Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik (Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory).

The Dasslers equipped many athletes at the 1928 Olympics, laying the foundation for the international expansion of the company.

Adidas was founded on August 18, 1949 by Adolf Dassler, following a family feud at the Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik company between him and Rudolf. His older brother had established Puma the previous year, which quickly became the business rival of Adidas.

Adidas made the leap from shoe company to sports-apparel brand when they introduced the Franz Beckenbauer tracksuit in 1967.

Today Adidas is the world's second-largest sporting-goods company after Nike, employing more than 50,000 people in more than 160 nations.