Random Most Hardcore Facts About Teddy Roosevelt (13 items)

(#4) He took on Vice, Political Machines, and Corrupt Cops as New York Police Commissioner

In 1895, T.R. became the New York City Police Commissioner. In his two years in the post, he made quite the impact. He fired the police chief. He took on political bosses. He strongly enforced vice laws. And he created what would become the basis for the modern day police academy.

T.R. also made a habit of going on walks in the middle of the night, in disguise, to check that his officers were on duty. His secret midnight walks were so successful that journalists began to follow him everywhere - making the secret walks a bit less secret.

"These midnight rambles are great fun." - Teddy Roosevelt
(#2) He Dealt with Tragedy by Going West and Becoming a Cowboy

After his wife and mother died - on the same day - T.R. grieved in his own unique way: by leaving the city behind for the wild of the American West to become a cowboy.
T.R. operated a cattle ranch in Little Missouri in the Dakotas for a few years, learning to ride, rope, and hunt. He worked alongside men who made him tougher, stating that they "took the snob out of him." During his years in the West, he wrote several books on the subject, before returning home and running for office.
"I never would have been President if it had not been for my experiences in North Dakota." - Teddy Roosevelt
(#1) He Was a Sickly Child, but Overcame His Illnesses Through Sheer Force of Will

When young Teddy Roosevelt would have asthma attacks, his father, Theodore Sr., would take him on carriage rides to force air into his lungs. When young T.R. couldn't see a shooting target, his father gave him his iconic glasses. And when young T.R.'s illnesses would prevent him from keeping up with other children his age, it was his father who said to him: "You have the mind but you have not the body. You must make your body."
Young T.R.'s many health ailments would soon recede as he took up athletics, hiking, and hunting - living what he would later call "a strenuous life."
(#13) He Nearly Died Exploring a Dangerous, Uncharted River

Devastated after losing his final presidential election, T.R. once again dealt with his grief by going on an adventure.

Accompanied by his son Kermit and famed explorer Colonel Candido Rondon, they set off on a journey down an uncharted, anaconda- and piranha-infested river in South America known as the River of Doubt. Though the former president was warned of the risk, he insisted on the trip, writing, "If it is necessary for me to leave my bones in South America, I am quite ready to do so.”

Things were not going great. They lost five of seven canoes. They were in close vicinity to cannibalistic tribes. One sailor died in the rapids. Another was murdered by a crew member gone mad.

Then they got worse. T.R. badly cut his leg trying cross the river in order to free two jammed canoes. His injury led to an infection, which led to a fever. Near death, he pleaded with his son to leave him behind, but Kermit refused. In the end, T.R. finished the journey - albeit 60 pounds lighter.
(#8) He Often Skinny-Dipped in the Potomac - During His Presidency

During his time as president, T.R., on more than one occasion, went skinny dipping in the Potomac. This was all part of T.R.'s "strenuous life" ethos. He was always moving. Always active. He'd often take soldiers, foreign dignitaries, and diplomats on naked swims and grueling hikes while president.
"I chose a route which gave us the hardest climbing along the rocks and the deepest crossings of the creek; and my army friends enjoyed it hugely - being the right sort, to a man.” - Teddy Roosevelt
(#10) He Helped Invent Modern Football

Football was once a bloody, brutal, potentially deadly sport. In 1904, there were 18 football related deaths and 159 serious injuries. In order for the sport to survive, modern rules needed to be put in place.
T.R. invited the head coaches of the top collegiate football teams to the White House on several occasions, strongly urging them to reconsider the rules of the game. He wrote at the time that his goal was not to emasculate the game - but simply to make it less lethal. By 1906, radical rule changes to the game of football were implemented.
“I believe in rough games and in rough, manly sports. I do not feel any particular sympathy for the person who gets battered about a good deal so long as it is not fatal.” - Teddy Roosevelt