CLEVELAND — Jim Donovan, the beloved radio play-by-play announcer for the Cleveland Browns and a TV sports activities fixture for greater than 4 a long time, died Saturday. He was 68.
Donovan retired from his broadcast profession earlier this 12 months and stepped away from his game-day duties with the crew earlier than this season whereas battling most cancers. He had known as Cleveland’s video games because the crew’s enlargement rebirth in 1999.
“That is an extremely tough day for us and all the Cleveland Browns group,” Browns house owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam mentioned. “His affect because the Voice of the Browns for 25 years is immeasurable as he touched the lives of our followers every Sunday together with his love for the Browns and his brilliance at his craft.
“He will likely be vastly missed, however he cemented a legacy that can stay on perpetually. The one factor that outweighed his love for this metropolis and this crew was the love he had for his household. Our ideas and prayers are together with his spouse, Cheryl, his daughter, Meghan, and everybody who was lucky sufficient to name Jimmy household or buddy.”
A Boston native identified to everybody as “Jimmy,” Donovan endeared himself to Cleveland followers together with his ardour, humorousness and professionalism. He was a stickler for element, spending numerous hours getting ready for sport broadcasts.
Donovan had not too long ago been inducted into the Browns’ Legends Membership and the Larger Cleveland Sports activities Corridor of Fame. He had been too unwell to attend the occasions.
When he was pressured to step down in August, Donovan wrote a letter to Browns followers expressing his gratitude for his or her assist.
“I’ve known as Browns video games for 25 years. Not a day has passed by after I have not paused and been so proud to be ‘The Voice of the Browns,'” he wrote. “Cheryl, Meghan and I thanks for all of the love, assist and prayers throughout my tough patches. It is like having an enormous household round us. And that is what makes the Cleveland Browns so particular. You do.”
Donovan needed to step away as sports activities director at WKYC-TV final fall for a number of months to endure remedy for leukemia. He returned to the published sales space in time to name the crew’s late-season run to the playoffs.
He had been identified with continual lymphocytic leukemia in 2000 and underwent a bone marrow transplant in 2011.
A graduate of Boston College, Donovan acquired to Cleveland in 1985. Together with doing native reporting of the town’s three skilled sports activities franchises, Donovan additionally had a number of nationwide community assignments and was a part of NBC’s protection crew on the 1992 and 1996 Summer time Olympics.
