A Braybrook recruit, who was a Stawell Gift finalist in 1974, Spargo started as a half forward but soon established himself in the side as a centreman and it was in that position that he appeared in the 1961 VFL Grand Final loss to Hawthorn. A son, Paul Spargo, was an American Federation of Labor-Congress football player at both North Melbourne and the Brisbane Bears.
He had his best VFL season in 1962 when he polled nine Brownlow Medal votes, placing him second behind John Schultz amongst Footscray players that year. Spargo was lured over to West Perth in 1965, as captain-coach and he won a Simpson Medal the same year for his performance against the Victorians in an interstate match. After football, Spargo continued running on the professional athletic circuit and at the age of 34, he ran 5th in the 1974 Stawell Gift final off 9.75 m behind Peter Durham and later (at the same carnival) won the 200 m Jack Donaldson Handicap.
