Founded in secret (1928–1930) Although the official foundation of Jalgpalliselts Estonia dates to November 1930, the first attempt to establish the club took place on 27 February 1928 by several
Sport and
TJK players. As the players had founded the club in secret and informed their former clubs only two days prior to transfer deadline day, rival clubs opposed and the formation of the new club fell through. and on 19 November, the club was accepted as a member by the
Estonian FA.
Domestic dominance (1931–1944) Despite strong performances in their first preseason, including a 3–0 win against Finnish bronze medalists
Helsingin Palloseura and a 2–0 win against Estonian champions
Kalev, JS Estonia suffered a surprise 2–3 loss to Narva THK and failed to win promotion to the Estonian Championship. Throughout their period of dominance, the club became the leading provider of players for the
Estonia national team and at their peak, on 22 June 1938 during Estonia–Hungary, had ten players in the starting line-up of the national team. JS Estonia won their fourth and fifth league titles in the
1937–38 and
1938–39 seasons, with their last title coming by a six-point margin ahead of second placed TJK. In the last official season before
World War II, the club narrowly finished as runners-up to
Tartu Olümpia. The club was dissolved in 1941 after the Soviet Union occupied Estonia, but was re-established a year later during the German occupation and won the unofficial league title in
1943. Jalgpalliselts Estonia Tallinn was closed down in 1944 after Soviet Union retook Estonia. == Managerial history ==