Short Stuff: Morganna the Kissing Bandit | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW

[Music]. hey and welcome to the short stuff I'm. Josh and there's Chuck and Jerry's here. too sitting in for days and this is. short stuff kind of sports related but. real pop culture to tell you the truth. yeah uh because if you grew up in the. 70s and 80s and you were a sports fan in. particular a baseball fan of Major. League Baseball here in the United. States M then no doubt at some point you. either saw in the news or saw live.

during a game a woman uh run out onto. the baseball field and chatted up for a. moment with a professional baseball. player and then kiss them on the cheek. and then run back to the stands waving. uh at least for a while until she start. started getting arrested for doing this. right uh and that was Morgana The. Kissing Bandit yeah apparently she was. born Nancy Lee Rose in Louisville. Kentucky um she started lying about her. age at a very young age uh as we'll see.

because she had a very difficult um. really rough adolescence um but she. became so famous for this during the 70s. and 80s that at one point Pete Rose said. that he considered her bigger than any. one baseball player in the whole game. like she was really really famous for. this she was on Letterman she was on. Carson and she was an exotic dancer uh. by trade by profession and I saw Chuck. that her her act I saw it described as.

um part nudity part comedy which is kind. of tough to pull off if you ask me but. one of the things in addition to running. onto baseball fields um that she was. known for uh that was very attention. getting was um her bust she was she was. extraordinarily Buxom apparently she had. a 60-inch bust that required an eye cup. and so that combined with running onto. the field at sporting events and kissing.

players it really captured the attention. of the American public yeah and you know. that's not the kind of thing we usually. highlight when we're talking about women. on the show but you can't ignore that. with uh Morgan and The Kissing Bandit uh. right most notably because it comes up. later in a potential um defense in court. uh which if you're wondering how in the. world is that does that work then you'll. find out in act to and I think the fact. that we mentioned it just goes to show. how much you can't ignore it I hope so. though uh she was introduced to baseball.

by her grandfather uh who raised her you. said she had a rough childhood which. very sadly she did uh she was a runaway. at age 13 uh she was unhoused for a. while eventually she became a an exotic. dancer as a teenager and in. 1969 at Crossley field during a. Cincinnati Reds game um when she was 17. she was with a couple of friends um. sitting you know near the field level. and all you know the baseball players. were were checking these girls out uh.

because it was 1969 and that's what you. did when you were a baseball player you. get a little bored in Outfield and look. to the stands at teenage girls I guess. MH and everyone was sort of uh you know. the players were sort of paying them. some attention except for Pete Rose and. they were like what gives with this guy. and her friend said hey I bet you I'll. give you five bucks if you run out on. the field and you know confront him uh. which she did um Pete Rose played. Outfield at the time before his moved to. the infield she ran out there.

yeah I didn't know that I see the. Outfield part yeah yeah he he was an. outfielder at first but uh okay he. played everywhere but I think shortstop. and Catcher And and pitcher yeah anyway. uh Pete Rose uh had a brief chat with. her um he was endorsing ballpark Frank's. Hot Dogs at the time and she said hey I. buy those hot dogs uh gave him a kiss on. the cheek uh he said you're nuts you're. going to get in trouble but she didn't. at the time she went back to her seat.

and security didn't come by and uh she. watched the rest of the game with her. friends and and a sports writer in. Cincinnati the next day dubbed her The. Kissing Bandit yeah and a great example. of her sense of humor she said later. that um her career started with a bet. from her friends and Pete Rose's career. ended with a bet because of course got. caught betting hundreds of bets right. yeah uh I say we take a break and we. come back and talk a little more about. Morgana and her prolific career let's do.

[Music]. [Music]. it all right so Morgana is kissing. athletes all over the place she's. getting more more.

famous uh she I mentioned that you know. she did this with most of the sports but. baseball was her number one love uh but. she would show up at a NASCAR race she'd. Kiss an NBA player she'd go to an NFL. game she'd went to NHL games she I don't. know if she kissed a horse or a jockey. but she did this at a horse race once uh. apparently George Brett um sort of got. back at her in a playful way when he. showed up at the club where she was. dancing and jumped up on stage and. kissed sure yeah he got he got it twice.

I think right I don't know yeah I think. he might have been one of the only ones. that she got twice which is why he he. got her back and like I said she was. prolific right um I think between 1969. and 99 pretty sure this was Sports. Illustrated who came up with this stat. she kissed over 50 athletes not to. mention managers umpires and mascots. including the San Diego chicken who just. keeps popping up again and again and.

stuff you should know episodes lately. weirdly and I think this one was from. our friends at grunge they said that her. presence often doubled the number of. fans in the stance like she was really. well known and she would announce where. she was going um what game she was going. to attend and people would just show up. because you wanted to see that kind of. thing in addition to a game so there was. I from what I can tell and correct me if. I'm wrong um there was a a a love ha. relationship with her because she would.

disrupt games yeah but at the same time. she would feel you know double the. attendance in a stadium when she said. that she was going to a game you know. yeah it was this weird cultural moment. in time where someone got really famous. for doing something just sort of unusual. and uh something that a lot of people. did like these days when you see uh. somebody run down on a field uh. especially since the stabbing of Monica. cell on the tennis court years ago oh.

yeah this is all sort of scary stuff and. you never know what someone's going to. do um you know when Hank Aron hit his. home run the guys ran down on the field. and you know were patting him on the. back but that was sort of the first like. oh boy what's happening here like these. white guys are are rushing you know the. black man who broke the white guys. record oh is that what changed things. that particular incident well that was. what first started I mean Morgana came. after this so it clearly didn't change. that much oh okay I think Monica is what. really really changed it because that.

was an actual act of violence everyone. else had good intentions but these days. when somebody rushes The Field uh it's. usually protester and they usually get. tackled in a pretty violent manner uh. and they won't show it on TV immediately. all cameras are are directed to not show. any of this stuff so no one's. incentivized to actually do this right. uh but not back then man everyone like. she was good for baseball you know she. she did have a few encounters with. security that ended up pretty rough.

there was one I think the 1970 allstar. game in Cincinnati the Red's management. put a bounty on her 100 bucks that. whoever could catch her because she I. guess had announced that she was coming. and um they they did catch her and I. guess they got her on the ground and. started the security started kicking her. in the the ribs that's ridiculous broke. three of her ribs yeah and you know I. said that's ridiculous because it's. different these days and it is a genuine. security risk cuz you never know what.

someone's going to do because the world. is crazy now yeah uh but back then like. everyone knew who Morgana was everyone. knew she was going to run out there it. would take less than a minute she would. kiss the player on the cheek uh not even. on the lips because she didn't like the. chewing tobacco uh in baseball and. there's absolutely no reason to throw. this woman on the ground and kick her uh. for sort of a minor disruption this was. a different time so if people are like. oh I don't know man you pretty you can't. do something like that like it it's just.

different these days everyone knew her. and knew she meant no ill will yeah but. despite that I mean she not just three. broken ribs she also suffered a broken. kneecap once she suffered a broken. tailbone all at the hands of security. but she just apparently Shrugged it all. off because I read an interview with her. from not too long ago where she chocked. it up to Ren aops getting carried. getting a little carried away so I think. she just kind of took this as like you. know it kind of goes along with it it's. going to happen from time to time and. she did get arrested quite a bit but you.

know usually without incident um there. was one one uh incident in particular. when she um rushed the field at the. Astros game to kiss Nolan Ryan on the. mound um what he was on the pitcher's. Mountain she was kissing him on the. cheek um and she was arrested and she. had to hire an attorney because she was. called to defend herself in court even. though she didn't actually have to go. through with it um it got far enough. that she hired the one particular.

attorney yeah this guy his name was. Richard Haynes they call him the. racehorse and he was you know one of. those sort of shody uh would take. wealthy clients accused of uh everything. from murder to you know embezzling and. stuff like that and uh Apparently one. time in court he Zapped himself with a. cattle prod to prove that it wasn't a. Lethal Weapon so he was that kind of guy. yeah uh and this is where we mentioned. that he um used her her bus size as part.

of the defense because he was going to. use the gravity defense he called it. wherein he would argue that she would. just lean over the railings as a sports. fan and that her her the weight of her. bust would drag her over the rail onto. the field and I guess the court was like. oh boy let's just drop the charges so we. don't have to go through that yeah I. think the Houston Sports Association got. involved they're like this is not a good. look for Houston guys let's just drop.

this so they did um and that was the one. time where she had to go to court it was. called to court but um that just became. part of her Legend too the gravity. defense it's like you can't read an. article about Morgana The Kissing Bandit. and the gravity defense not get. mentioned it's just part of her Legend. yeah for sure and one of the other. things I saw about her that I wanted to. mention Chuck was she was um apparently. like very crafty I saw it put that um. there was one time in particular I think. in 1986 she said um publicly that she.

was going to kiss Dom madingley of the. Yankees she was going to go to New York. for a game and so everybody was on high. alert in New York and while they were. doing that she flew to um I guess. Seattle to kiss the Mariners catcher. Steve joerger so she would use a little. deflection and slide of hand she wasn't. above that which also I mean this lady. was pretty cool that's right uh Scotty. Pippen of the Bulls was the last player.

uh to get that kiss and that was in the. early '90s and then she was in the movie. Kingpin and as a in a cameo and. 96 uh retired officially in 2000 even. though Scotty Pippen was years before. that um but I don't think we mentioned. she made millions of bucks off this. Persona yeah um but eventually you know. like all uh entertainers even even kind. of Oddball pseudo entertainers uh has to. leave eventually and um really went. underground and it's hard to find a lot.

of recent information uh about her even. though uh we think she is still alive. probably in her late '70s but who knows. because she's never been very truthful. about her age have you got anything else. I got nothing else great well here's to. Morgana The Kissing Bandit one of the. more interesting 20th century figures. ever uh short stuff friends is. out stuff you should know is a. production of iHeart Radio for more. podcasts my heart radio visit the iHeart.

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