End of an Era: Papa Hawks Sports & Collectibles in Golden Valley to Close
Sometimes a hobby can turn into a full-fledged career.
That’s certainly became the case for Mark Hochstaetter, the longtime owner of Papa Hawks Sports & Collectibles.
“I bought my first pack of cards probably in ’56, 1956, for a penny,” recalled Hochstaetter.
From that first pack of cards, his collection grew. Then it grew some more.
He eventually decided to retire from his corporate job with McDonald’s and turn his attention to sports card and memorabilia shows.
“Finally, one day we rented some space, put a sign up and here we are,” he said, while standing in his Golden Valley shop at 1200 Mendelssohn Avenue N.
It was about 14 years ago that he opened his shop. Today, he’s amassed a collection of 3,000 autographed baseballs, hundreds of framed photos, and 2.5 million cards.
“A lot of memories here. It’s almost like a museum,” said Hochstaetter.
Mark “Papa Hawk” Hochstaetter is the owner of Papa Hawks Sports & Collectibles in Golden Valley.
However, Hochstaetter says this museum will soon be entering a permanent offseason.
“I’m in my early 70s. It’s time to spend more time with my family, do some traveling with my wife, and if I wait much longer who knows,” he said.
With the lease up in February, he’s planning to slash prices and sell everything in the store piece by piece.
“Maybe we’ll get lucky and somebody will come in and buy it all,” Hochstaetter said. “But otherwise we’ll sell it all, we’ll keep selling on eBay, keep pushing stuff out that way.”
Clearance mode will kick in sometime in the next 30 to 60 days. Yet while this may be the end of an era, he says it’s been a fun career.
“Hey, not too many people can say that they ended their working career doing what they loved, and their hobby, that’s me,” Hochstaetter said.
Papa Hawks Sports & Collectibles in Golden Valley will likely close by Feb. 1, 2025.
Related: Business Matters: Papa Hawk’s Compiles History, Millions of Sports Cards
