Kaethe Dassler of Adidas Firm Dies
From Times Wire Services
HERZOGENAURACH, West Germany —
Kaethe Dassler, who with her husband founded the Adidas sporting goods company, died Monday of a heart attack, a company spokesman said. She was 67.
Mrs. Dassler and her husband, Adolf, started Adidas in 1948. She had served as head of the company since his death in 1978.
The Adidas company dates to a family enterprise originally called Gebrueder Dassler, which was founded in 1924.
In 1948, the elder Dassler brother, Rudolph, left the company--reportedly after a family squabble--and founded the Puma sporting goods company. He died in 1974.
The name Adidas was conceived by Adolph Dassler, who combined his nickname, “Adi,” with part of his surname.
