It’s outlandish. How did the Apollo 11 crew end up taking soccer souvenirs on the first mission to the moon? It seems impossible, but it’s true. “If they’re going to be humanity’s biggest heroes this century, they must be official members of our club.” That’s what the PR secretary of caindependiente from Argentina said at the start of 1969. And he followed through. The club quickly made Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins honorary members (or socios) of Independiente. They even created official IDs for the whole crew with their NASA headshots. But that wasn’t all. According to Independiente’s treasurer at the time, their goal was to get club souvenirs to the astronauts so that they’d take them up to space. They wanted to be the first club to have their flag up on the moon. The club used its connections at the American embassy in Argentina to make it happen, sending the whole crew jerseys and pennants for them and their families. In May of 1969, before departing for the...