Mary Ann Kostecki (August 11, 1934 – May 12, 2008), better known by her ring name Penny Banner, was an American professional wrestler.

[4] Later, Kostecki began working as a cocktail waitress in St. Louis, while also acting as a nanny to three children.

[5] During this time, Sam Muchnick, president of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), came into the lounge where she worked, and her boss told him that Banner was capable of doing two-hundred sit-ups.

[5] Muchnick bet her she could not complete the task, and after she did, she began getting calls to be a female professional wrestler.

[5] Kostecki began her career in professional wrestling as a way to learn how to defend herself outside of the ring.

[5] Banner claimed that she retired in 1977 after June Byers, who owned the NWA World Women's Championship, retired because of a car accident, and that The Fabulous Moolah had cornered much of the national women's professional wrestling scene with her trainees and herself, which left Banner with nobody to wrestle in the Carolinas.

[1][2] She also served as the Commissioner of the Professional Girl Wrestling Association (PGWA) from 1992 until her death.