November 8, 1904: Theodore Roosevelt, "Accident" No More

November 8, 1904: Theodore Roosevelt, who became President when William McKinley was assassinated 3 years earlier, is elected in his own right, the 1st "accidental President" to achieve the honor. John Tyler in 1844, Millard Fillmore in 1852, and Andrew Johnson in 1868 were so unpopular that they knew they wouldn't be nominated. Chester Arthur decided in 1884 that he was too ill to try.

It was an easy choice: The massively charismatic and widely-experienced TR was opposed by the incredibly boring Alton B. Parker, whose highest office was as a federal judge. That's how strapped for talent the Democratic Party was at the time.

TR got 56 percent of the popular vote, Parker not even 38 percent. TR got 336 Electoral Votes, Parker only 140, all in the "Solid South," which wouldn't have voted for Jesus if he were nominated by the Party of Lincoln. (It was only 40 years since the Civil War, after all.) TR did get 47 percent in Kentucky and 43 percent in Tennessee.

That night, TR makes a big mistake: He tells the press he won't run for what would amount to a 3rd term in 1908. He keeps his promise, but he tries again in 1912, and it splits the Republican Party. In a way, that split between well-meaning progressives and selfish conservatives has never been healed.

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November 8, 1904 was a Tuesday. Baseball was out of season. By this point, Saturday had become the standard day for college football. And basketball and hockey were still all-amateur. So there were no scores on this historic day.