Jim Donovan has been the radio voice of the Cleveland Browns since 1999.
CLEVELAND — Jim Donovan, radio voice of the Cleveland Browns since 1999 and longtime 3News sports anchor, made a call on the air Wednesday that he wishes he didn’t have to make.
He announced on 3News’ Front Row that he’s battling leukemia again.
“There’s a story to the new look and hairstyle that I’m sporting here tonight,” he said. “It was about a year and a half ago that I noticed that something was amiss with my health. And if you’ve known me and if you’ve followed me through the years here at Channel 3 and with the Cleveland Browns, you know that I’ve had a long battle with leukemia to the point where I had a bone marrow transplant about 11 and a half years ago. Well, my concerns were confirmed, and by that I mean it was told to me that I had had a relapse of leukemia, the disease had come back.”
Donovan, 66, explained that he’s been receiving chemotherapy for the last 18 months, some intravenous and some oral medications, and that for the most part, they’ve worked pretty well. But the game has changed for Donovan, and he’ll undergo a new, more comprehensive treatment plan.
“That’s, that’s the badge of honor that you get in chemotherapy – you begin to lose your hair,” he said. “This is going to be kind of a long and winding road through this treatment plan because it’s going to be pretty aggressive. But the goal is got to get better. I’ve got to get healthy, got to move on. I know the deal. I’ve done it before and I plan to do it once again.”
Donovan thanked Channel 3, the Browns, his family, calling his wife Cheryl his “number one go-to person, my advocate” and his daughter Megan his “amazing daughter.”
“We were knocked for a little bit of a loop when we got the news about this, but we’ve kind of steadied ourselves and we’re ready to go once again, ready for the fight,” he said. “I have total confidence in the medical professionals who are handling my case, the doctors, the nurses, the medical professionals at the Seidman Cancer Center at University Hospitals. They have done an amazing job for many, many years treating me and I am ready to put my case in their hands once again.”
Donovan vowed to be on the air at WKYC and on the radio as much as he can.
“But there are going to be periods of time where I might not be with you,” he said. “That might be for a day, might be for a longer period of time. We’ll just have to see how the treatment plan goes and see how I react to it all.”
Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam pledged to support Donovan in every way possible.
“Our thoughts and the thoughts of the entire organization are with Jim and his family right now in this difficult time,” they said in a statement. “There is no better representative of the Cleveland Browns. He’s as tough as they come and proved as much in his previous battle. We’re all behind Jim and will do everything we can to support him. We look forward to him winning this fight, being around the team and continuing to call our games during the season.”
Donovan was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia in 2000 — just a year after the Browns returned to Cleveland — and began a long and arduous battle that led to a bone-marrow transplant in the summer of 2011. Three months later, Donovan was back in the Browns broadcast booth next to his longtime partner Doug Dieken, who retired before the 2022 season. But the road back was harrowing, marred by fevers and a mole on his earlobe that proved to be melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer. Since then, he’s been closely monitoring his situation.
WKYC President and General Manager Micki Byrnes encapsulated the essence of Donovan.
“Jim Donovan is a Cleveland broadcasting legend, whose name has become synonymous with the Northeast Ohio sports scene,” Byrnes said in a statement. “Just as Jim handles his daily reporting and analysis with smarts, grit and strength — we know that Jim will bring that same tenacity and spirit to this health battle. We appreciate that the viewers and community stand in solidarity with our WKYC team in supporting Jim and his family, just as they always have for the past 38+ years.”
Heading into his 25th season in the booth, Donovan vowed to answer the bell whenever possible and make the calls Browns fans have come to cherish.
“Know this: I have always had you in my thoughts,” he said. “And I adore being with you as we go through the ups and sometimes the downs of Cleveland sports. So you are in my thoughts and you are a goal for me to be back with you, here at Channel 3 and down at the stadium calling the Browns up in that radio booth. And I’ll be there when I can or as much as I can. Right now, duty calls, and the duty is I have to get better. I think everything right now is pointing in a positive way.”
