Margaretta senior promoting card show at Sports Center

SANDUSKY — Hunter Grahl became interested in trading cards during COVID and has turned a hobby into a business. Grahl, a senior at Margaretta High School, is the promoter for the Ohio North Coast Card Show on Nov. 8-9 at Cedar Point Sports Center. He expects about 70 tables and plenty of sweet cards. "Cedar Point Sports Center is one of the best venues, and they've never had a show. I thought I could pull in a lot of people," Grahl said. "There's good potential for this to be a huge show." Grahl will be in charge of setup and is promoting the show, which will start at 10 a.m. on each day and last until late afternoon. Admission is $3. Vendors can call 419-515-0330 to reserve tables. Grahl said he has vendors signed up from several states, including Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia and Virginia. "I think the venue helps," he said. "I've attended many shows around the Midwest, but this is the first one I've promoted myself." Grahl said his grandpa was a card wholesaler, and, during COVID, he checked out his collection and was hooked. "My grandpa and dad showed me their cards," Grahl said. "I was looking through his (grandpa's) cards and sent them in the PSA grading service. We didn't think they'd grade that well, sitting in the attic, but they graded out really well. "It sparked my interest, and I created my own business." Grahl now owns several valuable cards, including a Roberto Clemente, Bob Gibson and Mickey Mantle. He also has a valuable 1986 Michael Jordan Fleer rookie card. Grahl's business is called Great Lakes Cards n' Breaks. In addition to buying, selling and trading cards and promoting shows, he "breaks" open boxes of cards on Instagram Live. People viewing the events that originate from Grahl's basement studio will then buy the cards. "I go live on Instagram and people will buy those sealed boxes off me," he said. "I do that whenever there's a good release. You have to be enthusiastic about it."