Morganna Roberts (born July 4, 1947) is an American entertainer who became known as Morganna or Morganna, the Kissing Bandit in baseball and other sports from 1969 through 1999. She was also billed as "Morganna the Wild One" when appearing as a dancer in the 1980s.

Morganna rushed the field on many occasions and kissed Major League Baseball players including Nolan Ryan, Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, George Brett (twice), Steve Garvey, Len Barker 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 initially wanted to be a nun but ran away from the school at age 13, hitchhiking 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.

She attracted particular attention for her mature figure, particularly her large breasts. She gave her measurements as , which she referred to as her "baseball stats". She frequently quipped that Dolly Parton was "flat-chested" compared to her. 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 maintained her strength via aerobics classes to accommodate the weight of her breasts, which 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?" She obtained the nickname "the Kissing Bandit" from a Cincinnati sportswriter who announced her arrival with the headline: "Bandit steals kiss from Pete Rose." and, on one occasion, The San Diego Chicken. Most players enjoyed the running joke; Kelly Tripucka of the Detroit Pistons 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 Despite the arrests and fines, her fame earned Morganna millions of dollars. She endorsed the "Morganna Kissing Bandit peanuts" brand from Carolina Fine Snacks, which expected a doubling of its sales as a result. She was featured in a display at the Baseball Hall of Fame, where a picture of her attempting to kiss Frank Howard was put on display. The Boise Hawks went further, hiring 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. Morganna appeared as the mystery guest in a 1978 episode of the game show To Tell the Truth.

She appeared in Playboy magazine, in the June 1983, April 1985, and September 1989 issues. During the 1990s, she occasionally kissed minor league players.

She is the subject of the E:60 biopic documentary, Morganna: The Kissing Bandit, directed by Emmy-winning producer Martin Khodabakhshian, which aired September 26, 2014 on ESPN.

She appeared in an obscure ChoiceMark Corp. VHS tape named "Sports Blooper Mania" in 1989, where she hosted/presented many sports bloopers that had been captured on film; and during the tape, an ongoing storyline developed where the viewer had to keep watching to find out who she would kiss next, as she claimed she was planning to kiss someone at an ongoing ball game, as she is famous for. Morganna ended up kissing Charles Barkley, who, at the time, played for the Philadelphia 76ers. As part of the plotline, she interrupted the game, kissed Barkley, and got arrested afterward.

Personal life

At age 22, Morganna 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!"

Retirement

Morganna retired at the end of 1999 and lives in Ohio. She no longer grants interviews,

References

Further reading

  • Updated November 3, 2014.