Victoria Ruelas (Victoria Brucker before her marriage) is not just your typical teacher. She is a trailblazer. Ruelas was the first American girl to play in the Little League World Series (LLWS). If you are not familiar with the LLWS it is a Universal baseball competition between kids ages 10-12 that is televised on platforms such as ESPN and ABC. This event is held in Williamsport, Pennsylvania every year and attracts thousands of fans.

 This is a sport that is usually dominated by boys, but that did not stop Ruelas from playing. She played for Eastview Little League out of San Pedro, California in the 1989 LLWS. You might think that she was just on the roster and did not see much of the field but you would be dead wrong. Ruelas was the first girl to pitch and get a hit in a LLWS game (littleleague.org).

“I just want to play Baseball,” This was the quote the Los Angeles Times used when describing how Ruelas responded to reporters in 1989 (latimes.com). Everybody doubted her because she didn’t fit the ordinary baseball stereotype. They couldn’t see past the fact she was a girl so they never got to appreciate how good of a baseball player she really was. 

Ruelas’s team ended up losing to the Northeast in their third game in the LLWS. Just because Ruelas came up short in the end doesn’t mean the path she paved for other girls is not appreciated. Many American girls after her got their chance to play on the big stage but she took a path that has never been taken before.

Ruelas went on to play softball at San Jose State on a full scholarship. Currently Ruelas is a math teacher at Kalani High School in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her husband is active duty military so she has just recently returned to Kalani after a stint in Iowa. She currently has a kid at Kaiser High School and her two other kids are currently on their own in the mainland. Many people that come across her might not know the path she blazed but once they do they won’t forget.