CLEVELAND — We're all aware of Jim Donovan's status as a legend in the Cleveland sports scene. It's not like we need a plaque telling us so.
However, we also Jimmy deserve every bit of recognition that comes his way, and now he will receive perhaps the highest honor Northeast Ohio athletics have to offer.
Later this year, on Oct. 15, Jimmy will be inducted into the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2024. Guardians Vice President of Public Affairs Bob DiBiasio, the hall's president, made the announcement personally during Jimmy's final broadcast before his retirement from 3News.
"We picked a day on Tuesday when the NFL doesn't play," DiBiasio joked, "so you can be there instead of doing that game."
John Telich, former Fox 8 sports anchor and the Hall of Fame's vice president, noted that Jimmy will now join fellow Cleveland sportscasters like Tom Hamilton and Joe Tait as enshrinees.
"Jim, you are really the top of the class," Telich said. "You deserve it."
When speaking to Jimmy, Telich and DiBiasio also announced the remaining members of the class of 2024, which include:
- Wayne Embry: Cavaliers general manager from 1986-99
- Anderson Varejão: Cavaliers center/power forward from 2004-16 and 2021
- Holly Koester: Walton Hills native and military veteran who became the first woman in a wheelchair to complete a marathon in all 50 states
- Cheryl White: Cleveland native and the first Black female jockey in American horse racing history, with a good chunk of her career spent at Thistledown
Jimmy, in accepting his newest distinction with gratitude, also took time to remember rooting for Embry during the latter's days playing for the Boston Celtics (Jimmy admits he's still a fan of the team).
"The great, gravelly voiced announcer of the Celtics Johnny Most used to call him 'Wayne the Wall!'" Jimmy recalled. "I loved Wayne Embry!"
The ceremony will take place this fall at the Marriott Downtown hotel. Before that, though, Bob had one more request of Jimmy, asking him to throw out the first pitch at a Guardians game this summer.
"I'll be there!" Jimmy declared.