CLEVELAND — Jimmy is coming back!
A little over two months after stepping away from his duties as 3News sports anchor and radio play-by-play voice of the Cleveland Browns to undergo treatment for leukemia, Jim Donovan will be returning to work starting this weekend.
Jimmy will be back in the radio booth to call the Cleveland Browns-Pittsburgh Steelers game on Sunday, before resuming his 3News sports anchor duties on Monday.
"I am back," Jimmy announced in a video to fans on Thursday. "And I can't wait. I have missed all of you so much. Thank you so much for all of your support."
After being diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in 2000, Jimmy began a decade-long battle with the disease that ultimately resulted in a bone marrow transplant in the summer of 2011. Since then, he has been closely monitoring his condition.
About a year and a half ago, Jimmy said he noticed something was amiss with his health. "My concerns were confirmed to me and it was told to me that I had a relapse of leukemia," he said this past May.
As he began a more aggressive treatment plan earlier this year, Jimmy decided to announce his leukemia relapse once his hair began falling out. Following the Browns’ season opener in September, Jimmy announced that he would be going on medical leave from WKYC Studios and his radio duties as part of the next step in his treatment.
"I promise I'll be a listener, and I'll be back as soon as I can," Jimmy declared after the radio broadcast.
A graduate of Boston University, Jimmy first arrived at WKYC in 1985. In addition to his work here in Cleveland, Jimmy called NFL games on NBC for 11 seasons and also handled play-by-play for several events during the network's coverage of the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics.
In 1999, Jimmy was named as the radio "Voice of the Cleveland Browns” and is set to resume his 25th season behind the microphone this Sunday.
And thousands of us will be glued to our radios listening.
Welcome back, Jimmy! We can’t wait to see you and hear you again.