“Pudgy” Stockton
Posted on Tuesday, June 11th, 2013 by John Wood
If there ever were a “bar belle” it was Abbye “Pudgy” Stockton. (She acquired the nickname “Pudgy” as a child and it stuck.)”Pudgy” was anything but, she weighed 115 pounds at a height of 5’2″ and, as you can see, was quite the physical specimen — especially impressive at a time when weightlifting for either gender was frowned upon.
She and husband Les Stockton were well-known at the first “Muscle Beach” at Santa Monica, California where they primarily worked on acrobatics and gymnastic feats for the crowds. Aside from being a frequent contributor to Strength and Health Magazine, Pudgy also helped organize the very first weight lifting contest for women through the AAU. In that contest, Stockton pressed 100 pounds, snatched 105 pounds, and clean and jerked 135 pounds.