news

Former Browns announcer Jim Donovan dies at 68

Vaseline October 28, 2024

Jim Donovan, known for a generation as the “Voice of the Cleveland Browns” and even longer for his work in the Cleveland market on television, died Saturday.

Donovan, who was 68, was battling chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). He was originally diagnosed with the disease in 2000.

“This is an incredibly difficult day for us and the entire Cleveland Browns organization,” Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam said in a statement released by the team. “We are deeply saddened by the loss of Jim Donovan. His impact as the voice of the Browns for 25 years is immeasurable as he touched the lives of our fans every Sunday with his love for the Browns and his brilliance at his craft.”

“He will be greatly missed, but he set a legacy that will live on forever. The only thing greater than his love for this city and this team was the love he had for his family. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Cheryl, his daughter Meghan and everyone who was fortunate enough to call Jimmy family or friend.”

Despite having a bone marrow transplant in the summer of 2011, the disease originally returned a year ago, leading to him taking time away from deployments for treatment. He returned in November, but the leukemia returned again this year, forcing him to retire completely at the end of August.

Donovan’s calls into Browns games were often among the highlights of what had otherwise been 25 years of mostly losing football. While he was never afraid to tell it like it was, regardless of whether the team looked bad or not, his enthusiasm was hard to miss in the big moments.

“That’s it!” Donovan exclaimed as the final second ticked in the Browns’ victory over the New York Jets last December 28. “The Browns are going to the playoffs! The postseason is back in Cleveland!”

“He waited so long to get a play-by-play job, he never took it for granted,” Doug Dieken, former Browns offensive tackle and Donovan’s longtime radio partner from 1999-2000, told Terry in August Pluto from Cleveland.com. . “He loves every minute he plays with the Browns. That’s why you know this is so hard for him.”

The Browns drafted Donovan into the Cleveland Browns Legends along with former placekicker Phil Dawson for their Week 3 home game against the New York Giants. Due to health problems he was unable to attend the ceremony.

“He had an uncanny ability to remain accurate and true in everything he said, yet supportive,” Dawson said in a Sept. 19 Zoom call. “I don’t know how he found that balance. So whether it was a devastating loss, I had looked at some of his stuff after the game, I kind of wanted to know what was swirling, and Jim just had a knack for, ‘This is what happened.’ He told the audience what he saw, yet he did it with such class, and I know I appreciated it.

“He understood Cleveland, and so he was able to add an element to what the city was feeling, what the city was frustrated by, what the city was ready to celebrate. So he somehow mixed that all up, and man, what an honor to have one guy call a Brown every game I played.

Donovan’s last public statement to fans came via the Browns after he retired from the stand on August 29. It was in the form of a letter released by the team.

Most of the letter was about the health struggles Donovan was going through. There was also the usual Donovan optimism about the opener against the Dallas Cowboys and the season as a whole.

However, it was the third paragraph that summed up the relationship between Donovan and the legion of Browns fans.

“I have been calling Browns Games for 25 years,” the letter read. “Not a day has gone by that I haven’t stood still and been so proud to be ‘The Voice of the Browns.’ Cheryl, Meghan and I thank you for all the love, support and prayers during my difficult times. It’s like having a big family around us. And that’s what makes the Cleveland Browns so special.

Donovan, who lived in Hinckley with his wife, Cheryl, and daughter, Meghan, was hired as the Browns’ radio broadcaster when the expansion franchise began play in 1999, the eighth full-time radio broadcaster in team history dating back to the original franchise. . As was the case with many of the others, including Nev Chandler, Casey Coleman and Gib Shanley, he was already established in the Cleveland market as sports director at WKYC-TV Channel 3.

The last Browns radio broadcast for Donovan was the team’s preseason finale at the Seattle Seahawks on August 24. He had done his last broadcast for Channel 3 before his retirement in June.

Former NFL Network personality Andrew Siciliano replaced Donovan in the radio booth full-time this season. Nick Camino was promoted to replace Donovan as Channel 3’s sports director.

The Browns used a number of announcers to replace Donovan in his absence a year ago. That included Siciliano, WKRK-FM host Jeff Phelps and Chris Rose, as well as Ohio State Radio announcer Paul Keels and Fox broadcaster Tom McCarthy.

Health concerns also pulled Donovan away from the broadcast booth for two games during the 2022 season. He was out for a Week 6 game against the New England Patriots, and he also missed a Week 11 game at the Miami Dolphins due to COVID.

A native of Boston, Donovan had worked at Channel 3 since 1985. He was also involved in a number of national broadcasting roles, including NFL broadcasts on NBC from 1987-97, as well as the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics and the 1994 World Cup.

(This story has been updated with new information.)

Chris Easterling can be reached at [email protected]. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on Twitter at @ceasterlingABJ.