The early years

REEBOK: A BROTHER-TO-BE, STILL MILES AWAY
Two brothers working together for the best of the athlete. Sound familiar? Well this story started across the channel, miles away from Herzogenaurach. While adidas continued to grow after its own 1954 miracle, two British men by the names of Joe and Jeff Foster gave their grandfather’s company ‘J.W. Foster and Sons’ (founded in 1895) a new name: Reebok. Keep it in mind for now, we will get back to this later.

FRANZ BECKENBAUER TRACKSUIT
What’s in a name? Everything, when you name it after a “Kaiser”. When the Franz Beckenbauer tracksuit model celebrated its debut, it became the first piece of apparel for adidas and opened a whole new business to a company that, so far, was famous for shoes. 




THE ATHLETES’ TRUST
How do you consistently earn the trust of world-class athletes through the decades? Produce innovative products that make them even better. Adi Dassler’s secret to success had an additional personal ingredient: He met with athletes (some of them even as visitors in Herzogenaurach), listened carefully to what they said, and constantly observed what can be improved or even invented to support their needs. The best of the best trusted adidas and its founder from the beginning. And that would not change throughout the decades to come. 
Bob Beamon set a world record in long jump in adidas shoes.
Rod Laver winning grand slams in adidas shoes.

When Dick Fosbury made his mark with a totally new high-jump technique, he was supported by adidas shoes that coped with the new requirements.

ONE BALL FOR ALL
Footwear for gold medal winners? Check. Apparel for record breakers? Check. Now, how about something to kick around? Consider it done. In 1970, adidas delivered the official ball, TELSTAR, for the 1970 FIFA World Cup™ for the first time. As the name TELSTAR already tells, the ball was designed to improve visibility on black and white television. It was the beginning of a wonderful partnership, with adidas providing the official match ball for every FIFA World Cup™ that followed.