Stoney Creek Publishing
  • Home
  • About
  • Books
    • Art of Farming
    • Barber, Astronaut, Golf
    • Beowulf
    • Best General in Civil War
    • Bound in Silence
    • Cassandra & the Night Sky
    • DeConstructed
    • Dangerous Latitudes
    • George P. Mitchell
    • Grinders
    • Island Intern
    • Last Trial Boone Pickens
    • Left
    • Little Hatchet
    • Man Who Thought like Ship
    • No Saints Here
    • Real World TX Politics
    • Richard Coke: Texan
    • Runners
    • Second Lives
    • Someday Belongs to Us
    • The Big Empty
    • The Mushroom Girl
    • The Nectar Dancer
    • The Rise of the Mad March
    • Under the Gulf Coast Sun
    • Voices of Camptown
    • Wolfe -Being Ninety
  • Audio Books
  • Hill Country Press
    • Ghostly Bugles
  • MEDIA & EVENTS
  • Podcast
  • Contact
  • More
    • Home
    • About
    • Books
      • Art of Farming
      • Barber, Astronaut, Golf
      • Beowulf
      • Best General in Civil War
      • Bound in Silence
      • Cassandra & the Night Sky
      • DeConstructed
      • Dangerous Latitudes
      • George P. Mitchell
      • Grinders
      • Island Intern
      • Last Trial Boone Pickens
      • Left
      • Little Hatchet
      • Man Who Thought like Ship
      • No Saints Here
      • Real World TX Politics
      • Richard Coke: Texan
      • Runners
      • Second Lives
      • Someday Belongs to Us
      • The Big Empty
      • The Mushroom Girl
      • The Nectar Dancer
      • The Rise of the Mad March
      • Under the Gulf Coast Sun
      • Voices of Camptown
      • Wolfe -Being Ninety
    • Audio Books
    • Hill Country Press
      • Ghostly Bugles
    • MEDIA & EVENTS
    • Podcast
    • Contact
Stoney Creek Publishing
  • Home
  • About
  • Books
    • Art of Farming
    • Barber, Astronaut, Golf
    • Beowulf
    • Best General in Civil War
    • Bound in Silence
    • Cassandra & the Night Sky
    • DeConstructed
    • Dangerous Latitudes
    • George P. Mitchell
    • Grinders
    • Island Intern
    • Last Trial Boone Pickens
    • Left
    • Little Hatchet
    • Man Who Thought like Ship
    • No Saints Here
    • Real World TX Politics
    • Richard Coke: Texan
    • Runners
    • Second Lives
    • Someday Belongs to Us
    • The Big Empty
    • The Mushroom Girl
    • The Nectar Dancer
    • The Rise of the Mad March
    • Under the Gulf Coast Sun
    • Voices of Camptown
    • Wolfe -Being Ninety
  • Audio Books
  • Hill Country Press
    • Ghostly Bugles
  • MEDIA & EVENTS
  • Podcast
  • Contact

The Barber, The Astronaut, and the Golf Ball

By Barbara Radnofsky & Ed Supkis

In 1971, famed astronaut Alan Shepard returned from the moon and went to get a haircut. Before settling into the barber’s chair in Webster, Texas, near NASA’s Mission Control, Shepard gave his longtime barber and friend, Carlos Villagomez, an autographed golf ball.


During his Apollo 14 moonwalk just days earlier, Shepard had conducted a world-famous demonstration of gravity by hitting a golf ball in an out-of-this-world sand trap. It took him two tries.


Carlos, a Navy combat veteran and barber for numerous astronauts, says Shepard  gave him the ball immediately after he returned to earth and was released from quarantine.
Had Shepard taken a third ball to the moon? And did he give it to his barber as a token of their long friendship?


The debate provides a backdrop for The Barber, The Astronaut, and the Golf Ball, a story of two extraordinary men and their lasting friendship. The book is based on recollections of Carlos himself, the authors—both children of NASA scientists—as well as other astronauts, memorabilia experts, and family and friends of Shepard, who died in 1998.  


Is the ball one of the most significant pieces of sports memorabilia in history, or simply a gift of enduring friendship? Did the barber’s golf ball fly to the moon?


In seeking the answers, this extensively researched account of NASA history provides readers with insight into some of America’s greatest space explorers, including Michael Collins, Deke Slayton, and Charles Duke.


The Barber, The Astronaut, and the Golf Ball offers a rare glimpse behind the scenes of America’s space program at its pinnacle and shows the ordinary people who supported one of the nation’s most monumental scientific endeavors.

CHOOSE YOUR DESIRED PURCHASE PORTAL BELOW:

AMAZON

TEXAS A&M PRESS

BARNES & NOBLE

Paperback

Purchase

BARNES & NOBLE

TEXAS A&M PRESS

BARNES & NOBLE

Paperback

Purchase

TEXAS A&M PRESS

TEXAS A&M PRESS

TEXAS A&M PRESS

Paperback

Purchase

Events & Media

01/29/2025

Harris County Law Library

11:00 AM (CT)

THE HARRIS COUNTRY LAW LIBRARY

Event Details

01/29/2025

Harris County Law Library

https://www.harriscountylawlibrary.org/events/2025/1/29/the-law-lure-and-lore-of-spaceaviation-memorabilia

11:00 AM (CT)

THE HARRIS COUNTRY LAW LIBRARY

CONNECT WITH US


Follow these authors by clicking the icons below.

Stoney Creek Publishing Social media Links

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Barbara Radnofsky

Barbara Radnofsky

Barbara Radnofsky

Barbara Radnofsky is a writer, mediator, teacher and lawyer. She was named the Outstanding Young Lawyer of Texas in 1988. Practicing on both sides of the docket, she’s been listed for more than thirty years in “Best Lawyers in America” in multiple areas. She’s the author of A Citizen’s Guide to Impeachment, a nonpartisan explanation of U.S. constitutional impeachment history and practice.


Click here to learn more!

Ed Supkis

Barbara Radnofsky

Barbara Radnofsky

Ed Supkis MD is a board-certified anesthesiologist specializing in cardiac anesthesia, and he worked with Dr. Michael DeBakey and his associates for over a decade. He then practiced anesthesia at MD Anderson Cancer Center, where he served as Director of Quality Assurance for the Division of Anesthesiology and as Medical Director of Respiratory Care for the Division of Surgery and Anesthesiology. 


Click here to learn more!

Connect With Stoney Creek Publishing - Click the icons below


Copyright © 2020-2025 Stoney Creek Publishing Group - All Rights Reserved. Website Design & Management by: MarketYourIndustry.com

Powered by

This website uses cookies.

We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.

Accept