Jim Donovan, Cleveland Browns radio announcer and WKYC host, died after battling cancer for decades. He was 68 years old.
Donovan began calling Browns games in 1999 when the team resumed play in the NFL after a three-year hiatus. The Browns unfortunately had 21 losing seasons in his 25 years in the position.
We are heartbroken that Jim Donovan, the voice of the Browns, has passed away.
Jim brought so much joy and love to this city. His regular presence on the radio for Browns games and on television for the nightly news made it feel like he was an extended family member to all those… pic.twitter.com/ASYOzIKK7G
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) October 26, 2024
“Jim brought so much joy and love to this city,” the Browns said in a statement posted on social media. “His constant presence on the radio for Brown’s games and on television for the nightly news made it feel like he was an extended family member to all who listened. His signature calls will forever be embedded in Brown’s history.”
For many fans, Donovan’s most famous call came during the game between the Browns and the Atlanta Falcons on December 29, 2002. Cleveland needed to win to make the playoffs. With four minutes left, rookie running back William Green had a 17–16 lead and ran 64 yards for a touchdown to earn the victory. Donovan’s “Run, William, run!” has lived on in Brown lore ever since.
“The most incredible thing about that whole play is that you can be at training camp on a sweltering day in July and people come up to you and say, ‘The Run, William, Run call, that’s the best call when I looked.’ it was in the highlights and they made your call,'” Donovan recalled in 2016. “And then you know that all the work you put in for this is worth it.”
Donovan was named to 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 broadcasts and TV shows earlier this year to focus on his cancer treatments.
He called baseball broadcasts in Cleveland on WKYC for three seasons from 2006 to 2008. Before joining the Browns, Donovan announced NFL games on NBC in addition to covering the Olympics during the 1992 and 1996 Summer Games. He also called World Cup football matches in 1994.
“Jimmy lived to play the games. That was Jimmy’s life,” said former Browns player Doug Dieken, who provided the analysis with Donovan. “He was a perfectionist. He listened to the matches afterwards and criticized himself. I was never able to do that. I didn’t want to hear myself.”
“During the 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 forgot I was on the air with him… Then he said, ‘Doug, what about that play?'”
