CLEVELAND — As Northeast Ohio continues to remember beloved former WKYC sports anchor and Cleveland Browns radio voice Jim Donovan, 3News honored him with a tribute.
On Monday night, WKYC dedicated their 7 p.m. newscast to Donovan. During the hour-long special, 3News' Russ Mitchell was joined by many guests who reflected on Donovan's life and career.
The special tribute can be watched in its entirety in the media player at the top of the story.
Jimmy spent 39 years at WKYC as a sports and news anchor and was the radio voice of the Cleveland Browns for 25 seasons. He died over the weekend after a courageous cancer battle.
Below is a collection of segments from the Remembering Jim Donovan Special that aired on WKYC:
Former broadcasting booth partner Doug Dieken
Former colleague Leon Bibb
Former Cleveland Browns Bernie Kosar and Josh Cribbs
Browns beat reporters Mary Kay Cabot, Tony Grossi and Jason Lloyd
Former 3News colleagues Nick Camino, Dave Chudowsky and Chuck Galeti
A powerful message from Jim Donovan to Cleveland told through former St. Ignatius Head Football Coach Chuck Kyle
“It’s hard to overstate Jimmy’s impact on all sports, all teams, all fans here in Northeast Ohio. His passion and love for the game was truly unique. We’ve all lost someone very special, and our thoughts and prayers stay with his wife Cheryl and daughter Meghan," said WKYC President and General Manager Micki Byrnes.
As part of their first game since the death of their longtime play-by-play voice, the Browns paid tribute to Donovan in a fitting and moving way.
Before kickoff against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, a special video montage of some of Jimmy's greatest calls was shown on the scoreboard, prompting a standing ovation from the tens of thousands of fans inside Huntington Bank Field.
The Browns did the unthinkable on Sunday, beating the Ravens 29-24 in an emotional win. Following the game, Cleveland Browns Head Coach Kevin Stefanski
Following the game, Cleveland Browns Head Coach Kevin Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry personally delivered that ball to Jim Donovan's wife Cheryl and Daughter Meghan.
"I had a lot of reasons for wanting to win this game, but one of them was so I can give that game ball to Cheryl Donovan and Meghan Donovan," head coach Kevin Stefanski said of Jimmy's wife and daughter. "Jim was so important to this organization. He was a friend of mind, I'm going to miss him, but his enthusiasm, his spirit will never be lost on me, it won't be lost on this football team."
3News' Tyler Carey and Dave DeNatale contributed to this report.
