Innovation followed quickly. By the late 1920s, the Dassler shoes were already appearing on the world stage. At the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam, German athlete Lina Radke wore Dassler running shoes and set a new world record in the 800 meters. 

Around the same time, the company began experimenting with branding and advertising. Early logos appeared in 1924 and 1927, and sporting achievements became central to how the company promoted its products.

Global Breakthrough: 1930s  

Through the 1930s, the Dassler brothers established themselves as specialists in athletic footwear. Their shoes were worn by multiple elite athletes, helping the small German manufacturer gain international attention. Close advisor Josef Waitzer played a key role in this success by connecting the brothers directly with athletes and providing performance feedback, an approach that continues to underpin PUMA’s current mantra of driving sport performance through direct athlete insight. 

One of the most famous moments came during the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, where American track-and-field athlete Jesse Owens won four gold medals while wearing Dassler spikes. And the medal streak didn’t stop there. Athletes competing in Dassler shoes went on to win seven gold and five bronze medals, while smashing two world records and five Olympic records along the way. This was the Dassler brothers’ international breakthrough. Suddenly the world was watching and elite athletes were stepping onto the track wearing Dassler shoes.  

A Turning Point: 1948 

After World War II, tensions between the brothers intensified. In 1947, 28 years after founding their company together, they decided to go their separate ways. 

In January 1948, Rudolf Dassler registered a new shoe manufacturing business at the town hall in Herzogenaurach. The company was initially called “Sportschuhfabrik Rudolf Dassler (RUDA)”. 

With just 15 employees, Rudolf transformed a former storage facility into a functioning factory and began building his own brand. 

Later that year, on October 1, 1948, the name PUMA was officially registered as a trademark. By December, Rudolf informed partners and customers that the company would operate under the name ‘PUMA Sportschuhfabrik Rudolf Dassler’ reflecting his vision that every product should capture the essence of a puma- combining speed, strength, flexibility, endurance, and agility, the very qualities essential to athletic performance. 

With that, a global sports brand was born.

Innovation on the Pitch: 1950s 

PUMA’s drive for innovation quickly translated into breakthrough products. 

Even prior to the launch of its most iconic models, PUMA had already begun collaborating closely with West Germany national football team and head coach Sepp Herberger, laying the groundwork for performance-driven innovation. In 1952, the company introduced the SUPER ATOM, widely recognized as the world’s first football boot with screw-in studs. This development, built on that earlier collaboration, caused a stir and marked the beginning of PUMA’s long-standing football legacy.

Winning Moments Take the Stage 

It didn’t take long for PUMA to show up on the winners’ podium. At the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games, athletes wearing PUMA delivered standout performances, including Josy Barthel taking gold in the 1500 meters and the U.S. women’s 4×100 meter relay team sprinting to victory. 

And the momentum kept building. In 1954, Heinz Fütterer matched Jesse Owens’ legendary 100-meter world record in Yokohama with a blazing 10.2 seconds, all in PUMA running shoes.

The Strip That Stuck: The Formstrip 

In 1958, PUMA introduced a small design detail that would go on to become unmistakable: the Formstrip. Originally created to stabilize the foot, it quickly proved it had style as well as substance. 

With sports gaining more global media attention, the Formstrip started popping up everywhere, turning into a signature look that made PUMA instantly recognizable. What began as a functional feature soon became an icon, showing that performance and design could go hand in hand, and look good doing it.

A Century of Speed 

What started with two brothers experimenting with sports shoes in 1919 has grown into a brand worn by athletes all over the world. Today, PUMA continues to build on that legacy by combining performance innovation, sport culture, and design to shape the future of sport. 

And it all started in the small Franconian town of Herzogenaurach.