After 21 years as the place for local sports fans to find a rare baseball card, autographed football, collectible photos, comic books and other memorabilia, the DugoutZone is closing its doors in Ellicott City.

Owner Rick Hubata said it’s time to shutter the brick-and-mortar location, though he will continue to host events and online sales.

The last day for the shop at 10226 Baltimore National Pike is Jan. 31.

Hubata, 67, cited declining revenues and a changing market for his decision.

Critics say online retailers such as Amazon are responsible for the decline of stores like Sears, Toys “R” Us and Barnes & Noble. Hubata said it was eBay that more profoundly changed the collectibles market, where he once thrived.

“The internet was made for selling cards,” he said.

In 1991, Hubata opened his shop in then-Chatham Mall. Finding, buying and storing baseball cards evolved from a pastime into a business.

He cites 1996 as the DugoutZone’s best year, when a new role-player Pokémon video game started a demand for comic books and game-related trading cards. Hubata was able to spot the trend early, diversifying his stock and supplying fans.

Yet he maintained a faithful clientele in sports, aided in part by in-store visits from local legends.

Hubata could charge patrons up to $80 to get items signed by Orioles players Brooks Robinson and Mike Mussina, or Ray Lewis and Joe Flacco of the Ravens.

Hubata said the store maintained a strong presence in the community, with events such as clothing drives for charity.

When eBay debuted in the mid-1990s, however, the convenience for traders to find authenticated sports memorabilia changed the way people bought items.

By 2008, the “handwriting was on the wall,” Hubata said. The housing bubble and recession prompted many people to sell, not buy, autographed jerseys and other items. For those still in the market, the online trade took a hefty chunk.

Moving forward, Hubata said, the DugoutZone will embrace the changing market by maintaining its own online presence. He’ll also host special events: AFeb. 9 sale at the Best Western-BWI Hotel in Elkridge will include items signed by Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Hank Aaron, Gil Hodges, Hank Greenberg, Roy Campanella, Roberto Clemente and more.

Who knows if sales from that event will rival what Hubata said was the most expensive thing he ever sold, a baseball bat owned by Robinson, and signed by 40 of his fellow Baseball Hall of Famers?

Hubata wouldn’t say what the bat fetched in 1998, but hinted it was “five figures.”