Cleveland Radio: Browns' Sports Voice Jim Donovan On Medical Leave

Longtime Voice of Cleveland Browns Jim Donovan

Earlier this year, Jim Donovan — longtime sports anchor at WKYC-TV4 Studios and the play-by-play voice of the Cleveland Browns — revealed that he is again battling leukemia.

Following this afternoon's Browns-Bengals game, Jimmy announced that he will be going on medical leave from WKYC and his Browns Radio Network duties as part of the next step in his treatment. However, Jimmy will anchor Monday's "Front Row" on 3News to recap the Browns-Bengals matchup prior to starting his leave.

Temporarily handling play-by-play duties on the Browns Radio Network will be Chris Rose, being joined by regular commentators Nathan Zegura and Je'Rod Cherry.

"I promise I'll be a listener, and I'll be back as soon as I can," Jimmy declared Sunday.

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.

"The goal is: got to get better, 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," Jimmy explained. "Through all of this, I will be here at Channel 3 and on the radio as much as I can be, but there will be periods of time that I might not be with you, maybe for a day, maybe for longer."

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 now in his 25th season behind the microphone.

“We hope to have Jimmy back as quickly as possible. We know he'll want to tell more stories and call more games later this fall," said Micki Byrnes, WKYC Studios president and general manager. "And everyone is welcome to send him their best wishes at getwelljim@wkyc.com ."