Hi Robert,
I started out w/ FB. Bought my first packs in 1978. Then by around 1980-81 I collected everything, including non-sports & boxing. By the early '90's my collection evolved into strictly Baseball. Then around 1998 I started watching NFL games more avidly and my interest in Baseball waned. I currently collect only FB but I do have 2 Baseball cards (although I'm probably going to sell them). Like John, I couldn't name more than a handful of Baseball players and the ones that I could are at the tail end of their careers (Suzuki, Pujols, etc...).
To me Football cards have so much going for them that I feel that they're a good buy at current price levels. There are/were fewer cards printed. Football is easily the most popular sport in America. Also, with the increased popularity of Fantasy FB, people feel like they "own" the players and are more likely to want to own a card of their stud players as a trophy for their mancave, which may lead to them becoming interested in the older players/cards as well.
Here is a link to a good article on Bowman FB cards (I'm w/ you, the Bowman's are my favorites):
http://www.nearmintcards.com/blog/20...is-for-bowman/
Good luck on your collection!
Scott