1. FC Herzogenaurach 1. FC Herzogenaurach The 1. FC Herzogenaurach is a German association football club from the city of Herzogenaurach, Bavaria. The history of the club is strongly intertwined with the Sports equipment manufacturer Puma, then just a local company and sponsor of the "FC" and its rivalry to ASV Herzogenaurach, which was sponsored by another local company, Adidas. Formed in 1916, the club did not begin to play competitive football till 1919 due to the difficult circumstances of the First World War. Between the two world wars, the club played on local Middle Franconian level, at times as high as the
Adidas on the company's clothing and shoe designs as a marketing aid. The branding, which Adidas bought in 1952 from Finnish sports company Karhu Sports, became so successful that Dassler described Adidas as "The three stripes company". The brand name is uncapitalized and is stylized with a lower case "a". Adidas was founded by Adolf "Adi" Dassler who made sports shoes in his mother's scullery or laundry room in Herzogenaurach, Germany after his return from World War I. In July 1924, his older brother Rudolf joined the business, which became Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory (). The electricity supply in Herzogenaurach was