Ruben Mendoza Oral History Interview

Alton, Collinsville, Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Granite City, immigration, Lincoln Place, Mexico, Mitchell, Olympic, soccer, sports

Mendoza, Ruben, “Ruben Mendoza Oral History Interview,” Madison Historical, accessed April 20, 2024, https://madison-historical.siue.edu/archive/items/show/1025.

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This oral history interview with Ruben Mendoza was part of oral histories conducted in the fall 2001 semester of History 447: Oral History.

In this oral history interview, Ruben Mendoza discusses his career as a soccer player and coach. He describes growing up in Lincoln Place and moving to Mexico at the age of eight in the late 1930s, where he discovered soccer. After moving back to Lincoln Place, he played soccer for St. Louis teams and played for the United States in the 1958 World Cup and in the 1952, '56, and '60 Olympics. He also discusses how he expanded soccer programs in Lincoln Place, Granite City, and the larger Metro East region as a coach starting in the 1960s. This interview had no transcript in the original archive. It was transcribed by Madison Historical staff.

There were two interviews conducted with Ruben Mendoza as part of the course. The other interview was conducted by Lisa Smithe.

• Louisa H. Bowen University Archives and Special Collections

Fall 2001 Granite City Oral History Interviews

• Lincoln Place
• Granite City
• sports
• culture
• immigration

Mendoza, Ruben

October 30, 2001

• Granite City
• Lincoln Place

English

• Oral History

• pdf
• mp3

• 1:02:05

Haselhorst, Jennifer

Mendoza, Ruben

Lincoln Place, Granite City, Illinois

247 kibts/s

• Lincoln Place
• Granite City, Illinois

• Mendoza-Ruben-O-002
• Original archive accession number: A02:43