Home Shows Challenge of the Yukon
Challenge of the Yukon cover art
627recordings
1943–1955catalog years
1linked performers
Old Time Radio Program Guide

Challenge of the Yukon

Challenge of the Yukon followed Sergeant Preston and his dog King through adventures in the Canadian Northwest. The long-running series began in 1939 and was renamed Sergeant Preston of the Yukon in 1950. Golden Radio Hour preserves 627 recordings, including the later era associated with Brace Beemer.

Program Guide

Program History

Northern adventure centered on Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sergeant William Preston and his dog Yukon King. The program began as a WXYZ regional serial/adventure, expanded to ABC in 1947, moved to Mutual in 1950, and was renamed Sergeant Preston of the Yukon in November 1951.

The run breaks into several distinct periods: WXYZ local/regional era (February 3, 1938 to May 28, 1947) on WXYZ, ABC network era (June 12, 1947 to December 30, 1949) on ABC Radio Network, Mutual Challenge of the Yukon era (January 2, 1950 to November 11, 1951) on Mutual Broadcasting System, and Mutual Sergeant Preston era (November 13, 1951 to 1954) on Mutual Broadcasting System.

Names that turn up again and again in the surviving run include Jay Michael (announcer and performer), Paul Sutton (performer), George W. Trendle (producer, creator, and performer), Fred Flowerday (director and performer), Fran Striker (editor, writer, and performer), Charles D. Livingstone (performer, director, and editor), and Mildred Merrill (writer and announcer).

Across its run, the surviving broadcasts are tied to ABC Radio Network, WXYZ, Michigan Radio Network, and Mutual Broadcasting System.

The stories often return to Murder and violent crime, Gold mining and prospecting, Working dogs, Robbery and theft, Royal Canadian Mounted Police / Mounties, and Mining claims and property disputes.

The show also sits in a wider radio history that includes Mountie and northern-frontier adventure in American popular radio, Breakfast-cereal sponsorship and youth premiums, and Sergeant Preston across the radio-to-television transition.

If you are following the same actors and creative circles, related programs worth opening next include The Lone Ranger, The Green Hornet, Lux Radio Theatre, CBS Radio Workshop, and Fibber McGee and Molly.

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Episodes & Recordings

Search this program or browse in its validated catalog order.

627 results
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A Swindler Swindled

· Episode 287

Preston helps an elderly miner and his wife turn the tables on the crook who sold them a worthless gold claim.

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A Footprint in Leather

· Episode 289

Preston investigates Matt Lawson's murder after the available evidence points toward Lawson's friend, Big Ben Barton.

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Caught by a Button

· Episode 290

After a prospector is found murdered, Preston and King follow the trail of clues toward the killer.

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A Swill O’ Gunpowder

· Episode 293

While pursuing a trio of bank robbers, Preston uses a bluff about poisoned water to turn the criminals' own predicament against them.

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King’s Ransom

· Episode 294

Criminals kidnap King in an attempt to force a prisoner's release, leaving Preston to outmaneuver them and recover his dog.

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Murder on Train Time

· Episode 295

A miner's murder appears to implicate an innocent man, and Preston and King work to uncover what really happened.

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Attempted Manslaughter

· Episode 297

Preston looks into a suspicious mining accident and finds it connected to a greedy suitor's effort to gain control of a valuable claim.

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Lantern Rock

· Episode 298

A strange tale of a moving lantern draws Preston into an investigation that reveals a concealed connection to murder and robbery.

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Belated Revenge

· Episode 302

Preston lays a trap for a corrupt banker whose crimes are tied to gold robberies and attempts on other men's lives.

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King Spots Murder

· Episode 304

Preston and King investigate a prospector's suspicious death along with the disappearance of his gold fortune.

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Self Defense or Murder

· Episode 305

A killing connected to a poker game leaves the circumstances in doubt, and Preston sets a trap to determine whether it was self-defense or murder.

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By Hook or by Crook

· Episode 306

A shooting at a cafe and a sudden offer to buy the establishment lead Preston and King toward a larger scheme.

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The Eleventh Hour

· Episode 307

Preston uses a ruse involving King to expose the organizer behind a string of Yukon bank robberies.

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Murder in ABC’s

· Episode 308

Preston tries to solve the murder of an old prospector while a suspicious will adds another complication to the case.

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(Xxxx) Bob Hite Announces (Audition)

An audition recording of “Murder in ABC’s” in which Boss Connor tries to seize trapper Bixby’s furs and traps Bixby, his daughter, Sergeant Preston, and Yukon King inside a small…

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Forgery and Murder

· Episode 311

Preston investigates a killing and a forged deed involving a prospector's greedy son and an accomplice.

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Macbeth’s Bloody Knife

· Episode 312

Preston and King work to clear an innocent man accused of murder while identifying the real killers behind a gold-rush crime.

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Wolf Pack

· Episode 313

Preston tries to protect a family driven into the wilderness while stopping a gang intent on stealing essential winter supplies.

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Lady Luck Claim

· Episode 315

Preston helps a young woman travel through the Yukon in search of the man she loves after he fled under a false accusation of theft.

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As a Man Thinketh

· Episode 316

A peculiar encounter involving King and a stuffed animal gives Preston a lead in a series of murders along the trail.

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The Great Dog King

· Episode 318

Preston and King race to save a local trader caught in a deadly wolf trap and expose the scheme behind his predicament.

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King Meets Soapy Smith

· Episode 321

Preston and King confront notorious con man Soapy Smith as his lawless operation threatens the gold-rush town of Skagway.

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A Pack of Bacon

· Episode 322

Preston and King track two escaped criminals while also trying to reach a stranded corporal in the Yukon wilderness.

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Edward Carson

· Episode 323

A decades-old secret and a deadly scheme lead Preston and King into an effort to save a young woman's long-missing father.

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The Plaid Coat

· Episode 324

Preston and King investigate a murder and robbery, with an unusual clue detectable to King helping point the way.

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Belle Brady’s Gesture

· Episode 325

A charitable plan to place food caches along Yukon trails turns dangerous after sabotage and a cabin fire, sending Preston and King after the culprit.

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