Sudbury Spartans The Sudbury Spartans are an amateur gridiron football team based in the city of Greater Sudbury , Ontario . Established in 1952 , it is the longest , continuously - operating sports organization in Sudbury . The Spartans have won more Northern Football Conference Championships ( 18 ) than any other team in the league . League . The team plays in the Northern Football Conference , which also includes current teams from Oakville , Tri City , North Bay , Sault Ste . Marie , Ottawa , Sarnia , and 2 from Toronto . History . The Spartans began play in 1954 as Charter Members of the Northern Ontario Rugby - Football Union ( predecessor to the NFC ) Originally named " Hardrocks " to reflect the Sudbury ' s predominant mining industry , the moniker was changed to " Spartans " in 1967 by then rookie head coach Sid Forster . Forster , a member of the 1953 team who was inducted in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2001 , felt the old name sounded more like a street gang than a football team . Suspension of operations . Following the death of Forster in 1994 , the team struggled to remain competitive . It faced several winless seasons in which it could not finish above . 500 . During this period , it fielded teams as small as 20 men . On May 14 , 2007 , the Spartans suspended operations due to an insufficient number of players to safely field a team . The team entered into a two year " leave of absence " from the NFC and were hoping to return to NFC action by 2010 , however there is no indication of a leader ready to take ownership of the organization . Rebirth . In the Fall of 2010 , football had become a major sport in City of Greater Sudbury . It had become the most popular participation sport in local high schools . The Joe Macdonald Youth Football league was flourishing , the high school league bursting at the seams and the Sudbury Gladiators of the Ontario Football Conference had enjoyed a few seasons of success on the gridiron . This resulted in a number of graduated Gladiator players looking to continue playing summer football . The Sudbury Spartan executive were approached by this group and after challenging the football players in Sudbury to commit to playing summer ball by pre - registering for the 2011 NFC season - an abundance of players answered the call and signed up and paid their team fees to play for the Spartans during the upcoming 2011 NFC season . Having answered the call to commit - Spartan President and former head coach Gord Goddard brought together a new Spartan Team Executive and began the process of re - entry into the NFC as a member club . The Sudbury Spartans have been welcomed back into the Northern Football Conference . On Saturday November 20th 2010 , the member clubs of the NFC gave the Spartans conditional acceptance back into the league . Official approval will come January 22nd 2011 at the NFC Annual General Meeting in Ottawa . New Era Begins . On January 22nd 2011 , the Sudbury Spartans were granted official and full membership back into the Northern Football Conference . After a 4 year leave of absence – the Spartans return to the gridiron for the first time since 2006 . The 2011 team will feature a number of Spartan legends returning to the gridiron . The offence will be led by NFC Hall of Famer Dave St Amour , joining St Amour on offence will be returning veterans Brandon Dougan , Al Kawa , Steve Gravel , Walter Wilson , Jordan Cecchetto and Phil Gleason . The defense will be led by NFC Hall of Famer Junior Labrosse alongside veterans Christian Lorenz , Bruno Rocca , Kyle Henri , Yves Filliatrault and Tommy Dube Some exciting new faces to the mix include former North Bay Bulldog Dustin Crowder , Paul Javor , Brett McKnight , Matt Beaulieu , Alex Balloway and Eric Breau . The team has signed 42 players for the 2011 Season already and still looking for more .