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Jim Donovan, longtime Browns radio voice and beloved Cleveland sports figure, dies at 68

Posted on by Gerres
Jim Donovan, longtime Browns radio voice and beloved Cleveland sports figure, dies at 68

CLEVELAND, OHIO – OCTOBER 01: A Cleveland Browns fan holds a sign of support for Browns radio announcer Jim Donovan, who is currently battling cancer, before a game against the Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns Stadium on October 1, 2023 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo: Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images)

CLEVELAND, OHIO – OCTOBER 01: A Cleveland Browns fan holds a sign of support for Browns radio announcer Jim Donovan. (Photo: Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images) (Diamond Images via Getty Images)

Long-term Cleveland Browns radio broadcaster and WKYC anchor Jim Donovan has died after a decades-long battle with cancer. He was 68 years old.

Donovan began calling Browns games in 1999, when the team resumed NFL play after a three-year hiatus. Unfortunately, in his 25 years in office, the Browns had 21 losses.

“Jim brought so much joy and love to this town,” the Browns said in a statement published on social media. “His constant presence on the radio during Browns games and on television during the evening news made everyone who listened to him feel like extended family members. His signature calls will forever be etched in Browns history.”

For many fans, Donovan’s most famous conversation occurred during the Browns’ game against… Atlanta Falcons December 29, 2002. Cleveland needed to win to make the playoffs. Leading 17-16 with four minutes left, rookie William Green ran 64 yards for a touchdown and the victory. “Run, William, run!” Donovan He has lived in the Brown tradition ever since.

“The most amazing part of this whole thing is that you can be in training camp on a hot July day and people will come up to you and say, ‘Run, William, run,’ and that’s the greatest conversation when I watched it in the highlights and they said that’s what they called” Donovan recalled in 2016. “And that’s when you know that all the work you put in to make it happen is worth it.”

Donovan was inducted into the 2024 Class of Browns Legends in September along with kicker Phil Dawson. Donovan’s daughter Meghan accepted the Browns Legends jacket on behalf of her father, who retired from radio and television shows earlier this year to focus on his cancer treatment.

He called for three seasons Cleveland Indians broadcast on WKYC from 2006-08. Before joining the Browns, Donovan announced NFL games on NBC as well as Olympic coverage during the 1992 and 1996 Summer Games. He also called matches of the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

“Jimmy lived to play in games. That was Jimmy’s life,” said former Browns player Doug Dieken, who conducted the analysis with Donovan. “He was a perfectionist. Later he listened to the matches and criticized himself. I could never do that. I didn’t want to hear myself.”

“During games he would stand up and jump up and down like he had a snake in his pants,” Dieken added. via Cleveland.com. “I was watching him and laughing… I was forgetting I was on the air with him… Then he would say, ‘Doug, what about that play?’