The radio booth at Cleveland Browns Stadium fell silent this Saturday. Jim Donovan, the voice that brought Browns games alive for 25 years, passed away at 68 after his brave fight with leukemia.

The Browns announced the passing of their legendary announcer, ending a chapter that began in 1999. The team posted on X, crystallizing the sentiment of an entire city in five simple words, “Jim meant so much to all of us.”

The Cleveland Browns shared a touching video of Coach gifting him a game ball – a moment they’ll “always look back on as one of our fondest memories.”

For a quarter century, Donovan’s voice painted the story of Browns football. His journey started far from Cleveland, in Boston’s old Garden – Section 77, Row F, Seat 13 as per The Athletic. There, a young boy sat next to his father, speaking into a tape recorder, practicing what would become his life’s calling. “Boy, you should really consider doing this.” Bobby Orr, listening to those tapes at his hockey camp, told the 12-year-old Donovan.

His calls became the soundtrack of Cleveland football. The raw emotion of “Run, William, Run” in 2002 still rings in fans’ ears from the playoff-clinching victory against Atlanta. When the Browns finally won after 635 dark days in 2018, his “Is this how it feels?” captured every fan’s heart. Last November, he stood as Dawg Pound Captain, smashing a Steelers-themed guitar before climbing back to his second home – the radio booth – to call a 13-10 victory over Pittsburgh.

The Browns’ tribute cut deep: “His steady presence on the radio for Browns games and on television for nightly news made it feel like he was an extended family member for all those who tuned in. His signature calls will be forever embedded in Browns’ history.”

A fighter’s spirit that never wavered

The battle began in 2000. Donovan’s chronic lymphocytic leukemia diagnosis became his private war. For years, he orchestrated a careful dance. He sneaked through garage doors for doctor’s appointments. Also, slip outside entrances to maintain privacy. He fought his fears alone because he “was afraid of the answers.”

What followed showcased pure grit. The bone marrow transplants in 2011 took a toll. He went through 105-degree post-surgery fevers. That was not all. Just prior to the season, one-third of his right ear lobe was amputated. He lost one of the most vital parts of commentary due to melanoma. He wasn’t able to wear a headset. But that didn’t deter his spirits. He called Pat Shurmur’s debut as Browns’ head coach.

The disease showed its defiance in 2023. Yet he found the strength to accept his Browns Legends jacket through his daughter Meghan on September 22, 2024, joining the franchise’s immortals. “My cancer is a defiant opponent and has returned very aggressively,” Donovan wrote to fans last August.

His final love letter to Cleveland emerged in his retirement announcement: “I have called Browns games for 25 years. Not a day has gone by when I haven’t paused and been so proud to be the voice of the Browns.” These words, much like the man himself, will echo through Cleveland’s heart forever.