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Rudolf Dassler

German cobbler, businessman (1898–1974)

Summary

German cobbler, businessman (1898–1974)

Field	Value
name	Rudolf "Rudi" Dassler
image	Rudolf Dassler.jpg
birth_date
birth_place	Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, German Empire
death_date
death_place	Herzogenaurach, West Germany
spouse	Friedl Dassler (née Strasser)
occupation	Founder of Puma
parents
children	Armin Dassler
relatives	Fritz Dassler (brother)
Marie (sister)
Adolf Dassler (brother)
Horst Dassler (nephew)

Marie (sister) Adolf Dassler (brother) Horst Dassler (nephew) Rudolf "Rudi" Dassler (29 April 1898 – 27 October 1974) was a German cobbler, inventor and businessman who founded the sportswear company Puma.

He was the older brother of Adidas founder, Adolf "Adi" Dassler. The brothers were partners in a shoe company Adolf started, Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik ("Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory"). Rudolf joined in 1924. However, after a feud developed between them following World War II, the brothers went separate ways and started their respective companies in 1948.

Initially calling the new company "Ruda" (a portmanteau for Rudolf Dassler), it was soon changed to its present name of Puma. Puma is the Quechua word for cougar; from there, it went into German as well as other languages.

Life

After his return from World War I, Adolf Dassler, Rudolf's younger brother, started to produce sports shoes in his mother's kitchen. His father, Christoph, who worked in a shoe factory, and the brothers Zehlein, who produced the handmade spikes for track shoes in their blacksmith's shop, supported Adolf in starting his own business. In 1924, Rudolf joined the business, which became the Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik (Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory).

With the rise of Adolf Hitler in the 1930s, both Dassler brothers joined the Nazi Party, with Rudolf reputed as being the more ardent Nazi.

During the war, a growing rift between the pair reached a breaking point after an Allied bomb attack in 1943 when Adi and his wife climbed into a bomb shelter that Rudolf and his family were already in: "The dirty bastards are back again," Adi said, apparently referring to the Allied warplanes, but Rudolf was convinced his brother meant him and his family. Rudolf, upon his capture by American troops, was suspected of being a member of the SS, information Rudolf assumed was allegedly supplied by Adolf.

Under his direction, Puma remained a small provincial company. Only under the direction of his son, Armin Dassler, did it become the worldwide known company it remains today.

Death

Rudi Dassler died on 27 October 1974 of lung cancer at the age of 76.

References

Carbone, Nick. (2011-08-23). "Adidas vs. Puma – Top 10 Family Feuds – TIME". [[Time (magazine).
John Underwood. (1969-03-10). "The leading sports shoemakers in the world are the German – 03.10.69 – SI Vault". Sportsillustrated.cnn.com.
"Adidas versus Puma: Origins of a rivalry between brothers". [[The New York Times]].
Esterl, Mike. (2008-03-21). "A Run for Their Money - WSJ.com". Online.wsj.com.
Kirschbaum, Erik. (2005-11-08). "How Adidas and Puma were born". The Journal.
Akhtar, Omar. (2013-03-22). "The hatred and bitterness behind two of the world's most popular brands". Forbes.
James, Kyle. (2006-07-03). "The town that sibling rivalry built, and divided". Deutsche Welle.
Tagliabue, John. (1984-09-03). "ADIDAS, THE SPORT SHOE GIANT, IS ADAPTING TO NEW DEMANDS". [[The New York Times]].
Tagliabue, John. (1981-02-15). "ADIDAS, PUMA: THE BAVARIAN SHOEMAKERS; HERZOGENAURACH, West Germany". [[The New York Times]].
[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/6215542/Adidas-and-Puma-bury-the-hatchet-after-60-years-of-brothers-feud.html Adidas and Puma bury the hatchet] by Alan Hall on ''The Telegraph'', 21 Sep 2009

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

1898-births 1974-deaths dassler-family people-from-herzogenaurach german-billionaires german-company-founders 20th-century-german-businesspeople german-fashion-designers shoe-designers german-military-personnel-of-world-war-ii people-from-the-kingdom-of-bavaria deaths-from-lung-cancer-in-germany adidas-people puma-(brand) officers-crosses-of-the-order-of-merit-of-the-federal-republic-of-germany german-military-personnel-of-world-war-i national-socialist-motor-corps-members

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