The Peculiar Truth about Morganna the Kissing Bandit

• August 1969: The Cincinnati Reds were playing at old Crosley Field. At one point during the baseball game, a woman leaped out of the stands on a dare, ran across the diamond, and rushed up to superstar player Pete Rose. She then planted a kiss on his cheek. Rose cursed at the woman and supposedly said, “You crazy f***ing broad. Are you out of your f***ing mind?’ She was then escorted away.

• What stood out for most observers was the enormity of the young woman’s breasts. Though cartoonishly large, they appeared to be real.

• The next night, Pete Rose sought her out in the stands, apologized for his rude language, and offered her a bouquet of flowers. She politely accepted.

• A sportswriter came up with the following headline: ‘Bandit steals kiss from Pete Rose.’

• From that moment on, the buxom woman became known as Morganna the Kissing Bandit.

• For the next 30 years, she repeatedly ran out onto baseball fields and basketball courts merely to kiss athletes and, as a result, became a lesser-known quasi-celebrity in the world of sports.

• Her name was Morganna Roberts, and she was from Louisville, Kentucky. She was born on the 4th of July, 1947. She stood five feet seven inches, had flowing blonde hair, and made a partial living as an exotic dancer.

• Morganna claimed her measurements were 60-23-39 - over two and a half times larger around her chest than her waistline. Her natural sixty-inch breasts were so large that she needed custom-made brassieres.

• She joked that Dolly Parton was flat-chested by comparison.

• Sensing that the publicity from running onto the field to kiss Pete Rose could be somehow lucrative, she kept it up at other Major League ballparks and at NBA arenas.

• In total, she kissed 37 Major League Baseball players, a dozen NBA players, and an assortment of minor leaguers and hockey players. Among her targets were Nolan Ryan, Fred Lynn, Cal Ripken Jr., George Brett, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and the San Diego Chicken. Many of the athletes welcomed her stunts. Some didn’t.

• Over the years, police arrested her 19 times for trespassing, with one stay in a California jail. She also suffered various injuries after being tackled by security personnel, including a damaged knee and broken ribs.

• From the start, Morganna had a steadfast rule. She would only kiss the men on the cheek. The reasons: hygiene and not wanting to anger any of the players’ wives. Also, Morganna was a married woman, so she didn’t want to upset her own husband.

• Nothing about her antics were ever X-rated. She never revealed her breasts or did anything lascivious. She kept the act fairly wholesome. That was because she always considered herself an entertainer trying to brighten up people’s lives, not a floozy seeking fame. Yet she had been an exotic dancer and later appeared in the pages of Playboy magazine three times.

• Morganna went on late night and morning talk shows and made the most of her time in the public spotlight.

• Her appearances helped boost ballpark attendance and brought her some income. She earned enough to become a part owner of a minor league baseball team in Utica, NY.

• By 1999, after 30 years in the public eye, the act had grown a bit tiresome, so Morganna “retired” from the scene.

• Today, the former kissing bandit is in her mid-70s and lives a quiet life in Ohio.