Jim Donovan’s impact transcended sports.
The longtime radio voice of the Cleveland Browns succumbed to his battle with cancer over the weekend. He was 68.
Donovan’s passing comes just two months after he announced his decision to step down from the Browns’ radio booth to prioritize his health. Earlier this year, he retired as sports director and anchor at WKYC, Cleveland’s NBC affiliate.
While initially planning to continue as the Browns’ announcer for the 2024 season, his health ultimately necessitated a full retirement. He would be replaced in the booth by Andrew Siciliano, who paid a touching tribute to his late predecessor Sunday.
But Siciliano wasn’t the only one to pay tribute to Donovan, as he received another tribute during Major League Baseball’s annual tradition of Standing Up to Cancer at the World Series. At the beginning of the sixth inning of Game 4 between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers, everyone inside Yankee Stadium wrote down a name on a placard and stood up to support those in their lives who have fought or succumbed to this awful disease.
And a Yankees relief pitcher chose to stand up for Donovan.
Sitting here watching the #WorldSeries and I see this. Who is this guy? Holding up a sign for Jim Donovan. pic.twitter.com/71TbMUSOys
— David Spano (@DaveSpa57) October 30, 2024
A native of Twinsburg, Ohio, Scott Effross — who wasn’t even on New York’s World Series roster — scribbled down Donovan’s name. As a 30-year-old athlete, we can reasonably assume that Effross grew up a Browns fan in the Cleveland area and is acutely aware of Donovan’s impact on the team and community.
Like many other Browns fans, Donovan may have served as the soundtrack for his childhood.
Whatever the case may be, he used Tuesday’s moment to pay tribute to an iconic sports figure in his hometown, who recently lost a battle with cancer. Unfortunately, the exact moment on TV offered a glimpse into the darker side of fandom, but Effross’s brief, heartfelt gesture didn’t go unnoticed.
And while Donovan’s voice may be silent now, his legacy will echo every Sunday in Cleveland.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.