Denver Post, July 20th 1991

 Buyers beware: Unofficial Colorado Rockies baseball merchandise has begun leaking into the Denver market.

Watch out, in particular, for a gray all-cotton T-shirt carrying a low price tag.

Notably missing are either a Major League Baseball trademark imprinted on the shirt, or the standard red, white and blue label that marks licensed League property. The label shows a helmeted player at bat.

"Any licensed baseball merchandise should have the label on it, a sticker, or the League's imprint. If it doesn't, it's not official," warned Ricky Clemons of Major League Baseball Properties.

An informal survey of stores along downtown's 16th Street Mall showed a suspect gray T-shirt, priced at $9.95, at Souvenir Warehouse, T-Shirt House, and Downtown Gifts, all owned by June Chung.

"What happened is, this guy walked in with the shirts and said you can sell them cheaper than the other $12 or $14 shirts on the market. We were low on shirts, and he said we could pay on consignment. So I said OK. I asked him if he had a license, he said yes, but I didn't really pay much attention," Chung said.

"He said he'd come back for his money, but he hasn't yet. When he does, we will just give him the shirts back. We don't want to sell them now," she continued.

All three Chung-owned stores also stock licensed shirts from Trench Manufacturing, Garan or Logo 7, priced from $10.95 to $13.95.

"This kind of thing happens all the time," said Clemons, noting that Major League Baseball routinely hires agents to investigate trademark infringements in markets such as Denver. The League has plenty of reason to crack down on offenders, with revenues from baseball licensing, merchandising and sponsorship totaling a whopping $1.5 billion a year.

"It's also a consumer-protection issue" since the League checks all official merchandise for quality, Clemons said.

Rockies souvenirs became hot properties this month after Major League Baseball awarded team franchises to Denver and Miami. The sale of licensed merchandise kicked off with controversy after one vendor broke a League embargo.

Elsewhere on the 16th Street Mall, an outdoor stand flush with merchandise and bearing a "Discount Licensed Products" banner boasted only official goods. So did stores such as Colorado Collection, Denver Gifts, Colorado Souvenirs and Sportsfan.

Meanwhile, sales remain strong. "Things have been so busy today. I haven't had time to go out and get a drink," said the stand's overheated operator.