He won the FA Cup in 1880 with Clapham Rovers and made three appearances for England, scoring three goals and being appointed captain.
He switched to join Brondesbury later that year for the rest of the season,[2] and was part of the team defeated 5–0 by eventual finalists Royal Engineers in the FA Cup first round in October.
With less than ten minutes remaining, the Scots scored what they thought was the winning goal but the referee disallowed it as offside.
In the final against Oxford University Sparks was involved in the winning goal; with the prospect of extra time imminent, Sparks "made a clever run down the wing, crossed to the waiting Clopton Lloyd-Jones who had the simple task of slotting the ball between the Oxford goalposts to secure a one-goal lead.
Tom Brindle, who also scored, had to leave the game in the second half due to injury, and England played on with ten men.