The Sparrow is currently an ancient missile completely surpassed in every aspect by the AMRAAM and other missiles, but it still is in the arsenal of many countries and that alone is enough to have it in game.
The Sparrow's initial versions were very problematic and it wasn't trustworthy in Vietnam war, but the latest variants were quite effective and it did a pretty good job in the 1991 Gulf War, while the AMRAAM was still in development. IIRC, the combo that most Iraqui planes downed in that conflict was F-15 with AIM-7.
You can check a list of those combats here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_engagements_of_the_Gulf_War