I believe that collecting goes in ebb and flow cycles. However in the past it was just a cycle , however I believe that the next cycle which is ongoing as we speak is not just a natural cycle but also one influenced by many outside factors as well. These include the cancellation of the 1994 World Series which made many collectors stop collecting , thereby preventing a continuation of collecting for that generation and the next generation, but also preventing the passing down of collecting to future generations; the high price of packs of cards and the inclusion of insert cards making the desirable cards out of the reach for young collectors, the lack of player interaction with fans,especially the young fans who are needed to continue the collecting hobby; the late starting times for the post season which prevents kids from watching the game or at times its conclusion( so they don 't see many times late inning heroics), the scandals involving players who used to be role models and heroes; the tainted hobby with fraud, scams, and forgeries common place; and the lack of the neighborhood card shop and card shows.
My 2 boys ( 11 and17 )care nothing about collecting, but thankfully at times they will go into my memorabilia rooms and ask questions about players or items. In the area we live there is one collector under 40 that I know of. I do agree that the numbers of younger collectors seems to be visibly decreasing.
As far as HOFer autograph collecting I believe that people may specialize their HOF autograph collections and not try to get them all due to the cost, the amount of forgeries appearing in the market, and that collectors are now realizing that no one will ever be able to complete the full set.
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