ɐ tʃˈæns mˈiːɾɪŋ wɪð bˈeɪsbɔːl ɹᵻsˈɜːtʃɚɹ ˈɛs. sˈiː. tˈɑːmpsən ɪn nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd fˈoːɹɾi fˈoːɹ lˈɛd ðə tˈuː tə kəlˈæbɚɹˌeɪt ˌɔn wʌt wʊd bɪkˌʌm ðə fˈɜːst tɹˈuː bˈeɪsbɔːl ɛnsˌaɪkloʊpˈiːdiə.
A chance meeting with baseball researcher S. C. Thompson in 1944 led the two to collaborate on what would become the first true baseball encyclopedia.