Ruben Michael Mendoza (June 2, 1931 – April 11, 2010) was an American soccer forward who was a dominant player in the St. Louis leagues during the 1950s and 1960s.

Mendoza began playing street soccer, as most young boys did at the time, while living in Durango.

Upon his return to the St Louis area he played for many local teams until he landed a spot with Zenthoefer Furs in 1951.

A prolific goal scorer, he spent most of his years either on the left wing or as a forward where he had a reputation for skillful and accurate headers.

Unfortunately, St. Louis teams and leagues rarely kept accurate statistics for these years so we no longer know Mendoza's goals totals.

His teammates with SL Kutis included such U.S. greats as Bill Looby, Harry Keough and Frank Borghi.

[1] While this number does not seem impressive by today's standards, it must be recalled that these caps were earned during an era when the U.S. National Team did not play very frequently.

After suffering numerous knee injuries Mendoza retired from playing and moved into the coaching ranks.

He began a soccer program across the river from St. Louis in Granite City, Illinois, becoming a pioneer in an area which later produced national team defender Steve Trittschuh, a former player under Mendoza.

One U-13 team advanced to and won the Midwest Regional competition (Detroit, MI) against 7 neighboring states.