Morganna
Encyclopedia
Morganna Roberts is an entertainer who became known as Morganna or Morganna, the Kissing Bandit in baseball and other sports from 1970 through the 1990s. She was also billed as "Morganna the Wild One" when appearing as a dancer in the 1980s.
Morganna famously rushed the field
on many occasions and kissed Major League Baseball
players including Nolan Ryan
, Pete Rose
, Johnny Bench
, George Brett
(twice), Steve Garvey
, and Cal Ripken, Jr.
She has been described as "baseball's unofficial mascot" and "the grand dame of baseball". She also crashed National Basketball Association
games, where Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
was one of her most notable victims.
. She was a baseball fan from a young age; her grandfather took her to see the Louisville team. She grew up in a poor family; her mother Jane disowned Morganna as a baby, which led to her grandmother Virgina taking care of her for six years. Morganna was then sent to Mount Mercy Catholic Boarding School just outside Louisville. She initially wanted to be a nun but ran away from the school at the age of 13, hitch-hiking with a friend to Baltimore
where she begged shop owners for a job while living on the street and eating out of garbage cans. She was unable to find work because she was too young to get a work permit.
After a month she came across an ad in the window of the Flamingo Club for a "Cigarette Girl
or Camera Girl. Must be 18". She told the owner that she was 18 and he quickly decided that she would be better employed as an exotic dancer
. She had no idea what that was but said yes, thinking "it had something to do with a camel and veils." Her first appearance on stage did not go well; she could not walk in her high heels and as she danced, the men in the audience kept shouting "Take it off". Thinking they were referring to her, she burst into tears and had to be led off the stage by the manager. After watching some of the other performers, however, she soon got the hang of it and was a well-established and successful exotic dancer by the time she was 17. Her act combined stripping with comedy, wearing two 10-gallon cowboy hats on her chest and impersonating the film critic Gene Shalit
. She avoided singing, however, as "when I sing, people think the place is being raided."
She attracted particular attention for what the writer Hank Davis describes as "her ample physical development. Simply put, the woman makes Dolly Parton
look developmentally delayed." She gave her measurements as 60"-23"-39", which she referred to as her "baseball stats". She frequently quipped that Parton was "flat-chested" compared to her. Morganna's famously well-endowed physique began developing when she was only nine and, according to her, by the time she was 12 she could pass for 18. She had to wear I cup bras, costing $50 each and custom-made by a firm in Columbus, Ohio
: "People ask me where I get my bras and I always tell them the same people who make my bras made the domes for all the stadiums." She also had to spend $45 a month on aerobics classes to help strengthen her back to take the weight of what she called her "stage props." Nonetheless, she insisted: "I'm not a sex symbol. I'm a comedienne. I make folks smile. I make them laugh - and that makes my day. What are we here for, if not that?"
player Pete Rose. She was prompted by a friend who "dirty-double-dared me to do it. Where I'm from, you don't turn down a dirty-double-dare... at least, not when you're a teenager." Rose reacted with "terrible language" but the next night he tracked her down "to the local nightspot where I was appearing and apologized with a bunch of roses." She obtained the nickname "the Kissing Bandit" from a Cincinnati sportswriter who announced her arrival with the headline "Bandit steals kiss from Pete Rose."
Over the following years, she became a familiar sight at baseball fields, basketball courts and hockey rinks. By 1990 she had kissed 37 Major League baseball
players, 12 National Basketball Association
players and dozens of minor league baseball
, basketball and hockey players, plus various umpires, managers and owners and, on one occasion, The San Diego Chicken
. She confined herself to kissing them on the cheek, commenting: "It's more sanitary than the lips, and that way their wives don't get upset. Besides, who wants tobacco stains all over your teeth?" On one occasion, one of her "victims" got his own back. Three weeks after George Brett was kissed as he prepared to bat against the Baltimore Orioles
, he marched onto the stage during her performance and, to the cheers of the crowd, gave Morganna a kiss of her own. Few players seemed to mind being kissed by her; Kelly Tripucka
of the Detroit Pistons
famously commented, "It was like hugging a mattress. When I saw her coming at me, I thought it was like a Mack truck. I had two options – either get hit or get out of the way. I decided to get hit."
Her pastime was not without its hazards, however; she was beaten by security guards in Cincinnati, suffered various injuries jumping from stands onto playing fields, and was hit by a pitch in Milwaukee. She was arrested and charged with trespassing nearly 20 times and was jailed briefly in Anaheim, California
. She also stood trial in Houston, Texas
, where her lawyer used what he called the "gravity defense" to explain her unauthorized presence on the field, arguing: "This woman with a 112-pound body and 15-pound chest leaned over the rail to see a foul ball. Gravity took its toll, she fell out on the field, and the rest is history." The judge laughed and dismissed the case. Despite the arrests and fines, her fame earned her millions of dollars.
Morganna's involvement with baseball extended to being the star of her own set of bubblegum cards and becoming the part-owner of a minor league club, the Utica Blue Sox
. On one occasion she gave them a pep talk when they were 15-7 down and in last place; they went on to win 40 of the next 54 games. She endorsed the "Morganna Kissing Bandit peanuts" brand from Carolina Fine Snacks, which expected a doubling of its sales as a result. She even got into the Baseball Hall of Fame, where a picture of her attempting to kiss Frank Howard was put on display. Her popularity with baseball fans grew to the point that minor-league clubs began inviting her to kiss their players as a way of drumming up publicity. The Boise Hawks
went further, getting her to enter the field by bungee jumping
from a crane, then persuading CNN
to feature her jump as its "play of the day". Her appearances proved to be extremely popular, consistently doubling average attendances.
in Las Vegas
, Houston and Oklahoma City
, sometimes earning as much as $7,000 to $10,000 a week. She was occasionally hired to publicize events, making personal appearances and giving speeches at places such as car shows and trade conventions. She also dabbled with television, appearing on Johnny Carson
's and David Letterman
's late-night talk show
s and occasionally hosting "Good Morning, Columbus," a local TV talk show. A 1978 episode of the game show, "To Tell the Truth" Morganna appeared as the mystery guest. At the age of 22 she married Bill Cottrell, an accountant from Columbus, Ohio. The two met at a World Series
game where he offered to help her with her taxes. Six months later, they got engaged; Morganna joked, "This man is saving you money. Better marry him!"
She appeared in Playboy
magazine, in June 1983, April 1985 and September 1989. During the 1990s she occasionally kissed minor league players. Her last notable appearance before retirement was in the Farrelly brothers
' feature film Kingpin
in 1996, appearing as herself. Morganna went into retirement at the end of 1999 and now lives in Ohio. She no longer grants interviews or does appearances.
Morganna famously rushed the field
Pitch invasion
A pitch invasion or field invasion, known as rushing the field in the United States, occurs when a crowd of people who are watching a sports game run onto the field, to celebrate or protest about an incident...
on many occasions and kissed Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
players including Nolan Ryan
Nolan Ryan
Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr. , nicknamed "The Ryan Express", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He is currently principal owner, president and CEO of the Texas Rangers....
, Pete Rose
Pete Rose
Peter Edward Rose , nicknamed "Charlie Hustle", is a former Major League Baseball player and manager. Rose played from 1963 to 1986, and managed from 1984 to 1989....
, Johnny Bench
Johnny Bench
Johnny Lee Bench is a former professional baseball catcher who played in the Major Leagues for the Cincinnati Reds from 1967 to 1983 and is a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame...
, George Brett
George Brett (baseball)
George Howard Brett , nicknamed "Mullet", is a former Major League Baseball third baseman, designated hitter, and first baseman. He played his entire 21-year baseball career for the Kansas City Royals. Brett's 3,154 career hits are the most by any third baseman in major league history, and 15th...
(twice), Steve Garvey
Steve Garvey
Steven Patrick Garvey , nicknamed "Mr. Clean" because of the squeaky clean image he held throughout his career in baseball, is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and current Southern California businessman...
, and Cal Ripken, Jr.
Cal Ripken, Jr.
Calvin Edwin "Cal" Ripken, Jr. , nicknamed "Iron Man", is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and third baseman. He played his entire 21-year baseball career for the Baltimore Orioles ....
She has been described as "baseball's unofficial mascot" and "the grand dame of baseball". She also crashed National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
games, where Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a retired American professional basketball player. He is the NBA's all-time leading scorer, with 38,387 points. During his career with the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers from 1969 to 1989, Abdul-Jabbar won six NBA championships and a record six regular season...
was one of her most notable victims.
Biography
Morganna was born in Louisville, KentuckyLouisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
. She was a baseball fan from a young age; her grandfather took her to see the Louisville team. She grew up in a poor family; her mother Jane disowned Morganna as a baby, which led to her grandmother Virgina taking care of her for six years. Morganna was then sent to Mount Mercy Catholic Boarding School just outside Louisville. She initially wanted to be a nun but ran away from the school at the age of 13, hitch-hiking with a friend to Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
where she begged shop owners for a job while living on the street and eating out of garbage cans. She was unable to find work because she was too young to get a work permit.
After a month she came across an ad in the window of the Flamingo Club for a "Cigarette Girl
Cigarette Girl
Cigarette Girl is a 2009 film written and directed by Mike McCarthy, and starring Cori Dials, Ivy McLemore, Helen Bowman, and Danny Vinson...
or Camera Girl. Must be 18". She told the owner that she was 18 and he quickly decided that she would be better employed as an exotic dancer
Exotic dancer
The terms exotic dancer and exotic dance can have different meanings in different parts of the world and depending on context. In the erotic sense, "exotic dance" is a often used to refer to practitioners of striptease...
. She had no idea what that was but said yes, thinking "it had something to do with a camel and veils." Her first appearance on stage did not go well; she could not walk in her high heels and as she danced, the men in the audience kept shouting "Take it off". Thinking they were referring to her, she burst into tears and had to be led off the stage by the manager. After watching some of the other performers, however, she soon got the hang of it and was a well-established and successful exotic dancer by the time she was 17. Her act combined stripping with comedy, wearing two 10-gallon cowboy hats on her chest and impersonating the film critic Gene Shalit
Gene Shalit
Gene Shalit is a film and book critic. He has filled these roles on NBC's The Today Show since January 15, 1973. He is known for his frequent use of puns, his oversized handlebar moustache, and for wearing colorful bowties.-Career:...
. She avoided singing, however, as "when I sing, people think the place is being raided."
She attracted particular attention for what the writer Hank Davis describes as "her ample physical development. Simply put, the woman makes Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
look developmentally delayed." She gave her measurements as 60"-23"-39", which she referred to as her "baseball stats". She frequently quipped that Parton was "flat-chested" compared to her. Morganna's famously well-endowed physique began developing when she was only nine and, according to her, by the time she was 12 she could pass for 18. She had to wear I cup bras, costing $50 each and custom-made by a firm in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
: "People ask me where I get my bras and I always tell them the same people who make my bras made the domes for all the stadiums." She also had to spend $45 a month on aerobics classes to help strengthen her back to take the weight of what she called her "stage props." Nonetheless, she insisted: "I'm not a sex symbol. I'm a comedienne. I make folks smile. I make them laugh - and that makes my day. What are we here for, if not that?"
Baseball career
Her on-field career began at the age of 17 in 1971 when she rushed onto the field at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati and kissed RedsCincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
player Pete Rose. She was prompted by a friend who "dirty-double-dared me to do it. Where I'm from, you don't turn down a dirty-double-dare... at least, not when you're a teenager." Rose reacted with "terrible language" but the next night he tracked her down "to the local nightspot where I was appearing and apologized with a bunch of roses." She obtained the nickname "the Kissing Bandit" from a Cincinnati sportswriter who announced her arrival with the headline "Bandit steals kiss from Pete Rose."
Over the following years, she became a familiar sight at baseball fields, basketball courts and hockey rinks. By 1990 she had kissed 37 Major League baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
players, 12 National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
players and dozens of minor league baseball
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
, basketball and hockey players, plus various umpires, managers and owners and, on one occasion, The San Diego Chicken
The San Diego Chicken
The San Diego Chicken, also known as The Famous Chicken, the KGB Chicken or just The Chicken, is an advertising mascot played by Ted Giannoulas, which originated as an animated TV commercial for KGB-FM Radio in San Diego...
. She confined herself to kissing them on the cheek, commenting: "It's more sanitary than the lips, and that way their wives don't get upset. Besides, who wants tobacco stains all over your teeth?" On one occasion, one of her "victims" got his own back. Three weeks after George Brett was kissed as he prepared to bat against the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
, he marched onto the stage during her performance and, to the cheers of the crowd, gave Morganna a kiss of her own. Few players seemed to mind being kissed by her; Kelly Tripucka
Kelly Tripucka
Peter Kelly Tripucka is a former American professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association from 1981 to 1991. During his ten seasons in the league, he played for the Detroit Pistons, Utah Jazz, and Charlotte Hornets...
of the Detroit Pistons
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are a franchise of the National Basketball Association based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The team's home arena is The Palace of Auburn Hills. It was originally founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons as a member of the National Basketball League in 1941, where...
famously commented, "It was like hugging a mattress. When I saw her coming at me, I thought it was like a Mack truck. I had two options – either get hit or get out of the way. I decided to get hit."
Her pastime was not without its hazards, however; she was beaten by security guards in Cincinnati, suffered various injuries jumping from stands onto playing fields, and was hit by a pitch in Milwaukee. She was arrested and charged with trespassing nearly 20 times and was jailed briefly in Anaheim, California
Anaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
. She also stood trial in Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, where her lawyer used what he called the "gravity defense" to explain her unauthorized presence on the field, arguing: "This woman with a 112-pound body and 15-pound chest leaned over the rail to see a foul ball. Gravity took its toll, she fell out on the field, and the rest is history." The judge laughed and dismissed the case. Despite the arrests and fines, her fame earned her millions of dollars.
Morganna's involvement with baseball extended to being the star of her own set of bubblegum cards and becoming the part-owner of a minor league club, the Utica Blue Sox
Utica Blue Sox
The Utica Blue Sox were a minor league baseball team based in Utica, New York. In their most recent incarnation, the Blue Sox played in the Short-Season A classification New York - Penn League from 1977-2001, with their home games at Donovan Stadium at Murnane Field...
. On one occasion she gave them a pep talk when they were 15-7 down and in last place; they went on to win 40 of the next 54 games. She endorsed the "Morganna Kissing Bandit peanuts" brand from Carolina Fine Snacks, which expected a doubling of its sales as a result. She even got into the Baseball Hall of Fame, where a picture of her attempting to kiss Frank Howard was put on display. Her popularity with baseball fans grew to the point that minor-league clubs began inviting her to kiss their players as a way of drumming up publicity. The Boise Hawks
Boise Hawks
The Boise Hawks are a minor league baseball team, located in Boise, Idaho. The team is currently a farm team for the Chicago Cubs and play in the Short-Season Class A Northwest League.-History:...
went further, getting her to enter the field by bungee jumping
Bungee jumping
Bungee jumping is an activity that involves jumping from a tall structure while connected to a large elastic cord. The tall structure is usually a fixed object, such as a building, bridge or crane; but it is also possible to jump from a movable object, such as a hot-air-balloon or helicopter, that...
from a crane, then persuading CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
to feature her jump as its "play of the day". Her appearances proved to be extremely popular, consistently doubling average attendances.
Other activities
Off the field, Morganna worked as an entertainer, doing comedy and dancing. She worked regularly as an exotic dancerExotic dancer
The terms exotic dancer and exotic dance can have different meanings in different parts of the world and depending on context. In the erotic sense, "exotic dance" is a often used to refer to practitioners of striptease...
in Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
, Houston and Oklahoma City
Oklahoma city
Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...
, sometimes earning as much as $7,000 to $10,000 a week. She was occasionally hired to publicize events, making personal appearances and giving speeches at places such as car shows and trade conventions. She also dabbled with television, appearing on Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
's and David Letterman
David Letterman
David Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...
's late-night talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
s and occasionally hosting "Good Morning, Columbus," a local TV talk show. A 1978 episode of the game show, "To Tell the Truth" Morganna appeared as the mystery guest. At the age of 22 she married Bill Cottrell, an accountant from Columbus, Ohio. The two met at a World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
game where he offered to help her with her taxes. Six months later, they got engaged; Morganna joked, "This man is saving you money. Better marry him!"
She appeared in Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
magazine, in June 1983, April 1985 and September 1989. During the 1990s she occasionally kissed minor league players. Her last notable appearance before retirement was in the Farrelly brothers
Farrelly brothers
Peter John Farrelly and Robert Leo "Bobby" Farrelly, Jr. , professionally known as the Farrelly Brothers are screenwriters and directors of ten comedy films, including There's Something About Mary; Dumb and Dumber; Kingpin; Hall Pass; Me, Myself & Irene; Shallow Hal; Stuck on You; Osmosis Jones;...
' feature film Kingpin
Kingpin (film)
Kingpin is a 1996 slapstick comedy film directed by the Farrelly brothers and starring Woody Harrelson, Randy Quaid, Vanessa Angel, and Bill Murray...
in 1996, appearing as herself. Morganna went into retirement at the end of 1999 and now lives in Ohio. She no longer grants interviews or does appearances.