Puma and Adidas have more in common than just being famous sport brands.

These two companies also share a bloodline and as is the case with so many family histories it was a rift between siblings which led to the creation of, not one, but two sneaker superpowers.

Adolf "Adi" Dassler was trained as a cobbler and supported by his father, Christof, in starting his own shoe company. On July 1, 1924, Adi's older brother Rudolf Dassler joined the business, which became the Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik (Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory).

The Dassler brothers sponsored many athletes in the 1936 Olympics and when track star Jesse Owens wore Adidas when he won four gold medals, the company was well on its way to new heights.

As sibling rivalry goes, Rudolf most likely thought his brother was too big for his shoes (or sneakers) and left to start his own company, Puma AG in 1948.

As a result, Adolf took control of Dassler Brothers and decided to rename the signing as "adidas", which was legally registered on August 18, 1949, under the name of Adidas AG. The company name is thus a combination of "Adi" (short for Adolf) and "das" -the first syllable of the surname.

The brothers earlier split led to a divided town. From 1948, the town was similar to a mini-Berlin. Brand loyalty became supreme for residents; several stores, bakeries and bars were unofficially known as either loyal to Rudolf's Puma, or to Adolf's Adidas.
 

Sources: Wikipedia.com, 10ad.org