Willy Tischbein

22/2/1871 - 9/2/1946

Record updated 22-Feb-07

A well known gentleman driver between 1900 and 1909 Tischbein was also a great cyclist in the 1890s. He was probably the first person to use sponsorship by recruiting sportsmen to use products from the Continental Tire Company.

Willy Tischbein
A very well known gentleman driver between 1900 and 1909, Willy Tischbein was born in Sarstedt, Germany. In 1894 he joined the Continental-Caoutchouk & Guttapercha Company (Continental Tire Company).

Based in Hannover, Tischbein was a great cyclist in the 1890s like many other car drivers. A member of the Halli Bicycle club and the Velocipeden club, he was one of the pioneers of German cycle racing mainly on tricycles. He was one of the strongest competitors and in 1890 he won the Championship of Prussia. From 1891 to 1893 he was the German Champion and in 1893, the pinicle of his success, he won the European Championship.

He turned to racing cars in 1900 and later that year he won the tough Eisenach-Berlin-Eisenach race and one year later the Mannheim-Pforzheim-Mannheim driving a De Dietrich. The latter competition was a qualifying race for the Gordon Bennett Trophy.

In 1905 he became a director of the Continental Tire Company and in 1925 he took over as General Manager and Chairman of the Board.

He was probably the first person to come up with the idea of connecting sport and marketing by recruiting sportsmen to use products from the Continental Tire Company.



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