CLEVELAND – Jim Donovan, the beloved radio play-by-play announcer for the Cleveland Browns and a TV sports event host for more than four decades, died Saturday. He was 68.

Donovan retired from his broadcasting career earlier this year and stepped away from his game-day duties with the team before this season while battling cancer. He had called Cleveland’s games since the team’s rebirth in 1999.

“This is an incredibly difficult day for us and the entire Cleveland Browns organization,” Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam said. “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 created 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 lucky enough to call Jimmy family or friend.”

Born in Boston and known to all as “Jimmy,” Donovan endeared himself to Cleveland fans with his passion, sense of humor and professionalism. He was a stickler for detail and spent countless hours preparing game broadcasts.

Donovan was recently inducted into the Browns’ Legends Club and the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame. He was too ill to attend the events.

When he was forced to resign in August, Donovan wrote a letter to Browns fans expressing his gratitude for their support.

“I’ve been calling Browns games for 25 years. Not a day has gone by where I haven’t paused and been so proud to be ‘The Voice of the Browns,'” he wrote. “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. You do that.”

Donovan had to step down as sports director at WKYC-TV for several months last fall to undergo treatment for leukemia. He returned to the broadcast booth in time to call the team’s late-season run to the playoffs.

He was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia in 2000 and underwent a bone marrow transplant in 2011.

Donovan graduated from Boston University and came to Cleveland in 1985. In addition to local reporting on the city’s three professional sports franchises, Donovan also had several national network assignments and was part of NBC’s coverage team at the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics.