bˈeɪsbɔːl wʌz tˈɑːmpsənz pˈæʃənət hˈɑːbi, ænd hiː hæd spˈɛnt mˈoːɹ ðɐn twˈɛnti jˈɪɹz kəlˈɛktɪŋ ˌɪnfɚmˈeɪʃən ɔnðə hˈɪstɚɹi ʌvðə ɡˈeɪm ænd ɪts plˈeɪɚz.
Baseball was Thompson's passionate hobby, and he had spent more than twenty years collecting information on the history of the game and its players.