How it all began... Pitchcare celebrates 25 years

John RichardsSep 12, 2026in Cover story

John Richards, co-founder of Pitchcare, reflects on the remarkable journey from start-up to 25 years of success.

I can remember vividly the day Dave Saltman turned up at my house with an idea about a website on the internet for groundsmen and greenkeepers – something called Pitchcare.

To be honest, I hadn’t a clue what he was talking about, but it sounded intriguing and I was kicking my heels after being sacked by Wolves the previous year. So, I gave it a go.

Neither of us had any experience of starting a business from scratch, so the early days were tough to say the least. Dave focused on bringing in investors and getting well-respected industry names on board, whilst I sorted out the general business administration.

We rented a small office on Wolverhampton Science Park and hired an IT developer – he lasted 8 months!

Dave was brilliant at juggling the finances, using several credit cards to avoid us going bankrupt.

Our launch at Saltex in September 2001 was a great success, with visits to the website rocketing overnight. It continued to grow, slowly but surely, mainly by word of mouth, but also because of Dave’s reputation within the industry. He was highly respected and was still continuing his work as a groundsman, notably overseeing the maintenance of the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff when the FA Cup Finals were held there during Wembley’s re-build.

Our appearance on the scene ruffled a few feathers, disappointingly but not unsurprisingly, as some of the older institutions saw us an upstart rival rather than as a complementary resource which would broaden and enhance the scope of the industry. It’s fair to say, we weren’t widely welcomed.

John gives us a happy birthday message

Saltex in 2003 was the gamechanger. We hired someone called Christopher Greener who, at 7’6” (2.28m), was the UK’s tallest man; he paraded around Windsor wearing a huge XXXXL Pitchcare tee shirt. He was a sensation, and everyone wanted a photo with him; something which didn’t go down too well with some people. However, that was when we knew we were in business.

From there, we opened an online shop, started offering training courses and, in 2005, launched Pitchcare Magazine.

It’s been an enjoyable rollercoaster ride, with lots of challenges and highlights, and lots of fun. Undoubtedly, one of our greatest successes has been the staff we have worked with over the years; brilliant and enthusiastic youngsters creating their own career paths combined with older experienced professionals enjoying this exciting new challenge.

It worked – and we’re still here 25 years later to prove it.

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