In January of 1957 Crossroads TV Productions of Springfield, Missouri, the same company that already had been producing the weekly live television broadcast of the Ozark Jubilee over ABC-TV, created a pilot program for a proposed country-themed game show. They called it “Pig in a Poke.”

Contestants answered questions to earn various cuts of pork, including slabs of bacon and bone-in hams. If any contestant won the whole hog, they won the grand prize. 

Smiley Burnett was the host, George Earle was the announcer, and May Kennedy McCord was one of the three contestants.

The pilot program was viewed by network executives of ABC-TV, but they passed on putting the show into production. Thanks to the perspicacity and generosity of Wayne Glenn of Nixa, Missouri. A copy of that pilot program has been donated to the Missouri State University Libraries. It has been digitized and uploaded to the dedicated YouTube channel of the MSU Libraries.