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Jim Donovan, longtime Browns radio voice and beloved Cleveland sports figure, dies at 68

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Jim Donovan, longtime Browns radio voice and beloved Cleveland sports figure, dies at 68

A Cleveland Browns fan holds a sign in support of Browns radio announcer Jim Donovan. (Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images)

Longtime Cleveland Browns radio broadcaster and WKYC anchor Jim Donovan died after struggling with 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 booth.

“Jim provided so much joy and love to this city,” the Browns said in a statement posted on social media. “His steady presence on the radio for Browns games and on television for nightly news made it feel like he was an extended family member for all those that tuned in. His signature calls will be forever embedded in Browns history.”

For many fans, Donovan’s most famous call was during the Browns’ matchup with the Atlanta Falcons on Dec. 29, 2002. Cleveland had to win to make the playoffs. Holding a 17–16 lead with four minutes left, rookie running back William Green ran 64 yards for a touchdown to clinch the victory. Donovan’s “Run, William, Run!” has lived on in Browns lore ever since.

“The most incredible part about that whole play is that, you can be out at training camp on a blistering July day and people will come up to you and say, ‘The Run, William, Run call, that’s the greatest call when I watched it in the highlights and they put your call to it,'” Donovan recalled in 2016. “And that’s when you know that all the work you do for this is worth it.”

Donovan was inducted into the 2024 Class of Browns Legends in September alongside kicker Phil Dawson. Donovan’s daughter, Meghan, accepted the Browns Legends jacket on behalf of her father, who retired from radio broadcasts and TV anchoring earlier in the year to focus on his cancer treatments.

For three seasons, he called Cleveland baseball broadcasts on WKYC from 2006-08. Prior to joining the Browns, Donovan announced NFL games on NBC, in addition to Olympics coverage during the 1992 and 1996 Summer Games. He also called World Cup soccer matches in 1994.

“Jimmy lived to do the games. That was Jimmy’s life,” said former Browns player Doug Dieken, who provided analysis alongside Donovan. “He was a perfectionist. He would listen to the games afterwards, critiquing himself. I never could do that. I didn’t want to hear myself.”

“During the games, he would be standing up, jumping up and down like he had a snake in his pants,” Dieken added, via Cleveland.com. “I’d be watching him and laughing.. I’d forget I was on the air with him… Then he’d say, ‘Doug, what about that play?'”

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