I've been doing a little research on a Chicago soccer team, Sparta A.B.A. The team was formed by Czech immigrants and they were very popular during the late 1920s and early 1930s.

They played at Sparta Stadium which was located at 21st St. and Kostner Ave. The last mention of Sparta Stadium in the Chicago Tribune archives is from November 30, 1953. Sparta Stadium does not appear in Tribue articles after that date.

There is a vacant lot at 21st Street and Kostner Avenue on a Google Maps photo from 2009.

If anyone has any information regarding the demise of Sparta Stadium, I would be very interested in learning how it met its end.

Thanks in advance!

Wow, that's funny...... I was the tour guide of a bus tour of the neighborhoods of Czech Chicago yesterday. We were stopped at the corner of Cermak and Kostner and I pointed out what used to be a Czech owned saloon and an elderly lady pointed down the street and said, "that's were Sparta played." I don't know when the "stadium" ceased, but the neighborhood had changed by the late 1950s to almost all African American.

On a somewhat related subject, here is an article about an almost unknown park owned by Anton Cermak, Mayor of Chicago from 1931-1933.

*The names are not correct and got scrambled in the translation from Czech to English*

Denni Hlasatel. Apr. 30, 1922

A BOHEMIAN BALL PARK BUILT

Our Czechoslovak countrymen, who are interested in all kinds of athletics,
will surely be pleased to learn that our Bohemian-American community will
have its own ball park. For this we are indebted to our Czech Alderman
Mr. Anton J. Cermak, who is generally known to be a friend of every kind of
good, clean sport as a fan, and who is also a member of the Chicago Athletic
Commission which consists of members of the city council. Mr. Cermak
recently purchased an extensive plot of ground located on west 26th Street
and Kostner Avenue and turned it into a ball park. The players, who will
regularly play in this park, are known as the Cermak Indians, and the park
itself will bear their name. It will be officially opened on May 7, 1922,
although the above-named team has already played successfully in various
localities.

To us, the fact that most of the members of the team are of Bohemian parent-
age, is, of course, most interesting. The captain of the team is Mr. Albert
Yanis of 2840 South Spalding Avenue; the financial secretary is Mr. F. A. Kuban
of 2532 Homan Avenue; the treasurer is Mr. James llixan of 1922 South 53rd
Avenue, Berwyn, Illinois; and the custodians of the park, J. Kounovsky
and William Soper. The business manager of the team is Mr. James Kuba of
4052 West 26th Street, and his assistants are Llessrs. George Eos and F. Sekosky.

We were informed that the team will consist of the following players: Charles liazouch (pitcher),
Hank Ahrendt (catcher), Joe Vit (first base), Eddie Novak (second base), Ileiman Suelau (shortstop), '.7. Kbtas (third base), JaJcey
Chodora (center field). Bob Uelichar (right field). Tubby Homberg (left field),
Al Ludek (utility pitcher), Jimmy Stroner (utility), Joe Tyk (utility), "Lucky"
Fleider (coach) and Josef Kubic (coach).

We have no doubts whatsoever that our general public will not only be Interested
in this Czech ball park, but also in the team, and we hope that this piece of
news concerning it will not be the last one.



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 03/27/2012 02:42AM by Berwyn Frank.

google [b]Sparta Stadium Chicago[/b] and you find info on the stadium. There is also info on the team.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/27/2012 02:55AM by rjmachon.

[b]See it on NTR aeriels 1938- 1951[/b]

Thanks for the information. The earliest references I found in the Chicago Tribune archives were for "Sparta Field" and they started appearing in 1921. There are several references to "Sparta Stadium" in the 20's and 30's and the stadium hosted several international friendlies including a match with SK Kladno (Czech) that was played in front of a crowd of 9,000.

After November 30, 1953, Tribune articles make no mention of Sparta Stadium. Any information on how and when it met its demise would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again!

Richard Stachowski Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> See it on NTR aeriels 1938- 1951


Thaks for this suggestion. They've got aerial photos of 21st Street and Kostner Avenue from:

1938 where you can clearly see the soccer field dimensions and stands,
1951 where you can see where there once was a field and half the stands are gone,and
1962 where it is clearly a parking lot.

So sometime after November 30, 1953, what was left of Sparta Stadium was turned into a parking lot.

I've drawn a few diagrams on Google Maps if anyone is interested in the position of the field and grandstands for Sparta Stadium. The attached link also includes pins for the sites of some of Chicago's earliest soccer matches.

[url=http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=216757880467725939095.0004bc0681b7fcda229ad&msa=0&ll=41.852697,-87.735052&spn=0.002086,0.005284]Chicago Soccer History Map[/url]

I went through my collection and dug up some Chicago Czech soccer memorabilia. mcnessa, if you use any of these photos please credit them to The Frank S. Magallon Collection.

Here is a neat photo of the Czechoslovak Legionnaires Soccer Team in 1927. I believe this thread unlocked the mystery for me as to where this photo was taken. It looks like the industrial buildings that are in the background of Sparta Stadium on 21st & Kostner. The photographer, Frank Boudnek, lived a stones throw away at 4243 W. Cullerton Ave. (20th St).



Here is another photo I have of the Sparta soccer team. On back it has the game info: Sparta of Chicago vs. Hakoah of Wienn. White Sox Field Chicago, ILL. May 19th, 1926. All of the players names are written on back as well.



This is a program for Sparta from Sept. & Oct. 1926. The book is filled with some basic info and a lot of ads for Czech owned businesses in Lawndale, Berwyn, and Cicero.

Thanks for posting those great pics Frank. Sparta lost that 1926 match to Hakoah Vienna 6-1 in front of 15,000 fans, but tied them 1 year later (2-2) in front of 12,000 fans at Soldier Field.

Sparta played several international friendlies against teams from all over the world, including the Uruguay National Team, Glasgow Rangers, Marte FC (Mexico), Audax (Chile), Hungaria FC, SK Kladno (Czech), Maccabees (Tel Aviv), and Atlante FC (Mexico).

It was 1/2-1/4 mile from the site of old Western Electric plant at 2200 S Cicero av, maybe the parking lot was for the workers, since they were now driving to work in the eary 50's. ?

Could be. There was an aerial pic in the 70's that showed a pretty packed parking lot.

Sparta dominated Chicago and regional soccer in the 20s and 30s.

[u]Chicago Soccer League Champs[/u]

1928
Every year from 1930 - 1936
1938

[u]Peel Cup Champions[/u] (Illinois State Champions)

Every year from 1928 - 1933
1937

[u]National Cup West Finalist (US Open Cup)[/u]

1927
1929
1933
1936
1938
1939

In 1938, the year where you can clearly see a marked soccer field and covered grandstands at www.histocilaerials.com, Sparta beat an east coast club 3-0 at Sparta Stadium to clinch the National Cup (later called the US Open Cup). They also shared the National Cup title with another club in 1940 when no final game was played.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/12/2012 07:59AM by mcnessa.

[b]There may be some remains of that stadium. If you go north from 22nd st. on Kostner look to the left near the first post and bus stop and there are two what looks like some ornaments about a foot or so high and painted. Check it out somebody . OK?[/b]

Richard Stachowski Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> There may be some remains of that stadium. If you
> go north from 22nd st. on Kostner look to the left
> near the first post and bus stop and there are two
> what looks like some ornaments about a foot or so
> high and painted. Check it out somebody . OK?


The 1962 photo at www.historicaerials.com shows what appears to be a freshly paved and very empty parking lot. It doesn't look like any remnants of the stadium were left on site.

mcnessa Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Richard Stachowski Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > There may be some remains of that stadium. If
> you
> > go north from 22nd st. on Kostner look to the
> left
> > near the first post and bus stop and there are
> two
> > what looks like some ornaments about a foot or
> so
> > high and painted. Check it out somebody . OK?
>
>
> The 1962 photo at www.historicaerials.com shows
> what appears to be a freshly paved and very empty
> parking lot. It doesn't look like any remnants of
> the stadium were left on site.

Check it out on google street view at the bus stop next to the post. Something is there.

Richard, those things don't look like significant architectural elements to me. They look more modern, probably something from the building that was on the corner before it was torn down? The neighborhood changed over 50 years ago now. To find something significant left over would be surprising.

A few Sparta pics from the Chicago Tribune:


September 3, 1928


September 7, 1947


September 8, 1947

The following map provides recent aerial and street views of the location where Sparta Stadium once stood.

Click on pin to view aerial view of Sparta Stadium in 1938, the year they won the National Challenge Cup (US Open Cup).

[url=http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=216757880467725939095.0004bc9ff8378b355f6e4&msa=0]Sparta Stadium Site[/url]

mcnessa, did you have something to do with this article in the Reader? If not this is way to obscure of a topic for them to have coincidentally written about. They must read this site!

*By the way, the author did make one major mistake. The neighborhood is NOT Little Village but North Lawndale. To be even more specific, it's the old Czech "Novy Tabor" (New Camp) section of North Lawndale, or known today as the "K Town" section which was just put on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.

http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/zoom-in-little-village/Content?oid=6036686

Zoom in: Little Village
21st and Kostner was once home to the country's best soccer team
By Kelsey Gee


Old-school cleats, Czech style.

Chicago is a city of immigrants. You can see it in the Senegalese restaurants along 79th Street, the characters marking the Chinatown Citibank, the suburban transplants in Wrigleyville. Today, the shops along 26th Street—recently touted as the city's "Second Magnificent Mile" by Mayor Emanuel—are filled with colorful quinceanera dresses and three-table taquerias. But the unlit "Ciznek Men's Wear" sign above Mariano's Western Wear on 26th and Spaulding hints at a time when the neighborhood was Czech, not Mexican.

Now vacant, a lot at 21st Street and Kostner Avenue once held Sparta Stadium, the home of the city's best soccer team, the Sparta ABA Football Club. Founded in 1917 by first- and second-generation Czechs, the Spartans dominated Chicago soccer until the mid-1940s. The team took the U.S. Open Cup in 1938, held in New York, in a championship game described by the New York Times as "a thrilling encounter witnessed by an overflow crowd of 10,000." The team tied for the title in 1940, too, but by the late 50s the stadium fell into disrepair, and by 1962 it was replaced with a parking lot.

The city's Bohemian population has mostly migrated to the near suburbs, but you can still pick up a breaded pork tenderloin at Troja's Chicken and Shrimp House, founded by Czechs in 1920.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/12/2012 01:32PM by Berwyn Frank.

Thanks for the link Frank. I had nothing to do with the article. Looks like one of their writers is a fan of Forgotten Chicago.

Fascinating discussion. I have old pictures of the American Sokol Organization holding their Slet performances at Sparta Field, as my father had written on the photos. There is also one of him doing giant swings on the high bar at Sparta Field.

For years I have passed the remains of this field, now a vacant parking lot, on the L and wondered what it had been. What a surprise to know it was once Sparta Field!

Since I'm Czech it seems a bit sad to me how much this neighborhood has lost.