History
In 1915, immigrant Czechs living in Chicago, Illinois formed a social sports organization which they named the Sparta Athletic and Benevolent Association. In 1917, several players from Chicago Slavia joined Sparta A and BA to form the core of Sparta’s soccer club. This team, known at times as Sparta A and BA or Sparta ABA, is best known simply as Chicago Sparta. In 1922, Sparta joined the Chicago Major League. However, up to 1923, Sparta had remained an undistinguished amateur recreational team. That year, it signed several Czechs who had recently immigrated to the United States. These proved to be exceptional players and they quickly brought Sparta to the top of the city’s soccer hierarchy. At the time, Chicago was dominated by ethnic British leagues, but during the early 1920, several new leagues were formed to meet the needs of other expatriate teams. There are no records of which of the these leagues Sparta played in, but in 1926, it joined the St. Louis Soccer League which was attempting to expand throughout the Midwest United States. Sparta played only four games, a 2-1-1 record, before withdrawing on November 16, 1926. It then joined Chicago's International League, winning nine titles before moving to the new National Soccer League of Chicago in 1937. It won that season's title, then no more. However, by that time, it was gaining attention at the national level, winning the 1938 National Challenge Cup and earning a co-championship in the 1940 National Challenge Cup. In 1938, Sparta rejoined the St. Louis Soccer League. This time, it won the league title, their last in team history. In 1969, Sparta tied for the Peel Cup title with Chicago Kickers, never to win a national or state competition after that year.
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