DONAVAN, JAMES "JIM” (17 July 1956 – 26 October 2024) was a broadcast journalist and longtime radio voice of the CLEVELAND BROWNS.
Donovan was born to James and Ruth Donovan in Boston, and grew up in nearby Milton, Mass., graduating from Boston University, where one of his classmates was Howard Stern. He worked at radio stations in Minnesota and New England before arriving in Cleveland in 1985 to become weekend sports anchor at WKYC-TV. A year later, he became the channel’s weeknight sports anchor, a role he filled until his retirement.
In 1987, Donovan started doing play-by-play of NFL games on NBC, switching to CBS when that network got the rights to AFC games. He also was part of the broadcast crew for the 1992 and 1996 Olympic games, calling swimming, water polo, soccer and baseball, and was also part of the broadcast team for the 1994 World Cup. When WKYC acquired broadcast rights for the Indians, he was their play-by-play announcer from 2006 to 2008.
When the Browns returned to the NFL in 1999 as an expansion team, Donovan was picked as the team’s radio play-by-play announcer, pairing up with former offensive tackle and longtime analyst Doug Dieken and then, following Dieken’s retirement after the 2021 season, with Nathan Zegura.
Donovan was recognized by many organizations for his skill and commitment. He won three Lower Great Lakes Emmy Awards, multiple awards from the Press Club of Cleveland, including induction into its hall of fame, a lifetime achievement award from the Cleveland Sports Awards, and induction into the Cleveland Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. In 2013, the Akron Aeros had a Jim Donovan bobblehead night, and in 2024, he was inducted into the CLEVELAND SPORTS HALL OF FAME and the Browns recognized Donovan as a team legend that year as well.
In 2000, Donovan was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. In 2011, he underwent a bone marrow transplant and successfully went into remission until 2023, when he missed several games to get treatment for a recurrence of cancer. Donovan retired in May 2024 from WKYC-TV, but at the time planned to continue announcing Browns games. But during the Browns’ preseason that year, he announced he would no longer call Browns games.
He married Cheryl Bucholz, in 1989, and they are parents of a daughter, Meghan.
Vincent Guerrieri