It's sort of fitting that the leader of the dinosaur media sought out a dinosaur hobby shop for their article.
The internet has changed the card business, both vintage and modern. The chase card explosion (autos, game-used, etc.) has further changed the modern card business. The Times chose a card dealer who hasn't been with the times in decades and who seems to be running a store as a hobby to keep busy. They also got a choice quote from Upper Deck's "marketing guru", who when he's not busy urging collectors on the UD blog to be their local card store's sugar daddy [seriously -
read it and retch] is only too happy to go along with the absurd idea that collectors still aren't used to buying and selling cards on the internet.
The modern card market is strong, but not much of it is about set collecting any more - Topps, Heritage, and Allen & Ginter are the big exceptions. Now, it's primarily player or team collecting, and collectors buy differently. A few years ago, team slots in online box breaks were almost unheard of. Now, it's how most high-end modern sets are sold and opened.
It's not surprising that the major retail stores are selling fewer and fewer cards. Between pack searchers and lousy odds for the expensive cards in retail packs, many collectors of modern cards avoid the retail card aisles.
I agree with almost everything Rich Klein has said in this thread, although I don't think Brooks Robinson will be forgotten - he has achieved legend status in Baltimore such that kids there know who he is.