The first football club in Poland, the Czarni (Black, name coined after their black shirts; because of their colours the team was commonly dubbed Powidlaki – an allusion to the plum marmalade colour of their logo) were the best known and most popular sports club in Lwów (together with Pogoń Lwów formed soon afterwards).

Although the main interest of the fans lay in football, soon other sections were opened (ice hockey, boxing, skiing, tennis, athletics).

Despite their initial successes and their contribution to the history of football in Poland, the club was largely unsuccessful in league meetings.

However, the following year Czarni's forward Rochus Nastula was the top scorer in Polish Soccer League, with 25 goals scored in one season.

Following the German-Soviet invasion of Poland, which started World War II in September 1939, the city was occupied by the Soviet Union.