Is the Political Comvention Obsolete?

At this writing the Republican Party still hopes to have an in-person national convention in Jacksonville, Florida, while the Democratic Convention will take place remotely.  This raises the question:  why have conventions at all anymore?

It used to be that the political convention was held every four years to pick the party's candidates for president and vice-president.  However, every candidate since 1952 has won on the first ballot.  There has still been occasional drama, as when Reagan challenged Ford in 1976, or when Kennedy challenged Carter in 1980, but the drama has largely gone by the wayside.

The political convention was a source of excitement and party fervor from 1832 to 1952, but is now obsolete.