Very good post Bill! I 100% agree with you on the whole prospecting/modern card thing. I believe prospecting is the closest thing to gambling in our hobby. Cards worth a bunch at one moment way take a massive drop the next moment when the prospect has a bad season or doesn't get called up. Too much risk involved in that collecting. BTW, I'm sorry that you were forced into an early retirement/disabled by a condition that you did not have any control or say over. Crappy things always happen to the best people. But I am glad you are not letting it keep you down.
For the OP: As for where to go, if one loves the history of baseball, I'd recommend any pre-war sets or early post war sets. Both have plenty of HOF'ers to collect if that is what you want to focus on. As for cards keeping their value, I'd recommend good/decent graded copies of HOF'ers in the specific sets. These will usually always be the cards that everyone wants to collect, hence there will always be a good market for it. If anything, the prices of HOF'ers in the pre-war sets and early post war sets have increased and I do not see them dropping anytime soon. As for modern, one injury can drop someones card prices to almost nothing. Prospecting players is a way to make money in a hurry, but it is the closest thing to gambling in our hobby.
Many pre-war and early post war sets can be collected on a budget so do not let that discourage you. If you want a card and it costs more than you have, just save up for it. Eventually, you will become the owner of that card and it will make you feel awesome knowing that you finally own it. I recently have enjoyed looking at the 1910 Standard Caramel (E93) set and hopefully one day can start trying to collect it.
And just because a card may not be the most expensive or the best card in the set, doesn't make it worth any less to you if you truly want to collect it. This is a hobby. Collect what you want to collect and what you are interested in. Just relax and enjoy it and let the good times roll!
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