James Francis Donovan III (born July 17, 1956) is an American radio and television personality who serves as sports director and news anchor for
WKYC
WKYC (channel 3) is a television station in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Tegna Inc. Its studios are located on Tom Beres Way (a section of Lakeside Avenue in Downtown Cleveland named after the station's longti ...
channel 3 (
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are ...
) in
Cleveland, Ohio, and has been the radio voice of the
Cleveland Browns Radio Network
The University Hospitals Cleveland Browns Radio Network is an American radio network composed of 24 radio stations which carry English-language coverage of the Cleveland Browns, a professional football team in the National Football League (NFL ...
since 1999.
[Donovan bio - WKYC.com](_blank)
/ref>
Early life and career beginnings
Donovan was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He is a 1978 graduate of Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...
and began his career as a sports director for WJON radio in St. Cloud, Minnesota
St. Cloud is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the largest population center in the state's central region. The population was 68,881 at the 2020 census, making it Minnesota's 12th-largest city. St. Cloud is the county seat of Stear ...
. From Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
, he moved to Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the n ...
, providing play-by-play basketball and hockey coverage for the Satellite News Channel
Satellite News Channel (SNC) was an American short-lived news-based cable television channel that was operated as a joint venture between the ABC Video Enterprises division of American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. (a.k.a. ABC) and the Group W ...
in Burlington, Vermont
Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It ...
. He also did play-by-play and sports anchoring at WVMT
WVMT (620 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Burlington, Vermont, and serving the Champlain Valley of Vermont and New York. WVMT is simulcast on FM translator station W242BK at 96.3 MHz. The translator's owner, Vox AM/FM, LLC, oper ...
radio and WEZF-TV.
He also served for one season as play-by-play announcer for the Vermont Reds
The Vermont Reds are a defunct minor league baseball team. They played in the Eastern League at Centennial Field in Burlington, Vermont from 1984 to 1987. They were affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds.
The team won the Eastern League Championship ...
, a Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
minor league baseball team (which coincidentally is now the Akron RubberDucks
The Akron RubberDucks are a Minor League Baseball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They play in Canal Park, located in downtown Akron, which seats 7,630 ...
, a Cleveland Guardians minor league team).
WKYC and SportsTime Ohio
Following the death of WKYC
WKYC (channel 3) is a television station in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Tegna Inc. Its studios are located on Tom Beres Way (a section of Lakeside Avenue in Downtown Cleveland named after the station's longti ...
weeknight sports anchor Jim Graner in 1976, the Channel 3 sports director job became something of a "revolving door," as at least six replacements (among them Don Schroeder, Tom Ryther, Joe Pelligrino, Jim Mueller and Wayland Boot) came and went over the next decade – this was until Donovan, who had joined the station in 1985 as weekend sports anchor, finally took over in 1986. He has held the post ever since.
In 2006, channel 3 and SportsTime Ohio
Bally Sports Great Lakes is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. The channel, which is a sister network to Bally Sports Ohio, broadcasts statewide coverage of professional ...
- now known as Bally Sports Great Lakes
Bally Sports Great Lakes is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. The channel, which is a sister network to Bally Sports Ohio, broadcasts statewide coverage of professional, ...
(BSGL) - acquired the local TV rights to the Cleveland Browns. So in addition to his duties on WKYC, Donovan also hosts several Browns themed programs on BSGL.
Play-by-play
On the national level Donovan had called play-by-play for NBC Sports
NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...
' NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...
coverage from 1987 to 1997. He also handled swimming and soccer play-by-play in the 1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
and 1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...
Summer Olympics
The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...
for NBC, and World Cup Soccer in 1994.
In 1999, when the Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...
returned to the NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...
, Donovan was named as radio play-by-play voice of the team.
After WKYC acquired the local, over-the-air television rights to the Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...
, Donovan served as play-by-play announcer from 2006–2008.
Signature calls
''Ten...Five...Touchdown Browns!'' – when a Browns player scores a touchdown
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...
with a clear path to the end zone
The end zone is the scoring area on the field, according to gridiron-based codes of football. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field. ...
.
''Run William Run!'' - in reference to William Green 64 yard touchdown run during a Cleveland Browns vs. Atlanta Falcons game in 2002.
''Is this how it feels?'' - when the Browns defeated the New York Jets in Week 3 of the 2018 season, their first victory in 635 days.
''Chubba Wubba Hubb!'' - in reference to Nick Chubbs 92 yard touchdown run during an Atlanta Falcons vs Cleveland Browns game in 2018.
Medical leave
On May 25, 2011, during the 11 pm newscast, Donovan announced he had been battling leukemia
Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...
for the last ten years, and that he would be taking a leave of absence to undergo a (what would be a successful) bone marrow transplant.
On September 11, 2011, Donovan returned to the Browns broadcasting booth in time for their opener against the Cincinnati Bengals. The next night, he returned to the sports anchor chair at WKYC, as well as his hosting duties on STO.
Donovan met with his bone marrow donor on Thanksgiving night in 2013, when Dallas Gentry from Wise, Virginia
Wise is a town in Wise County, Virginia, United States. The population was 3,286 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Wise County. It was originally incorporated as the town of Gladeville in 1874. The town's name was changed to Wise in ...
, visited the Donovan family.
News anchor
On January 16, 2012, Donovan expanded his duties at WKYC as he became the anchor of channel 3's 7 p.m. newscast. He continues in his role as sports anchor at 6 and 11 p.m.
Personal life
Donovan, his wife (Cheryl), and daughter (Meghan) live in Hinckley, Ohio.
Awards and honors
*Three-time Lower Great Lakes Emmy Award
The NATAS Lower Great Lakes Chapter is one of 19 regional chapters of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The Lower Great Lakes Chapter (formerly Cleveland Chapter) was founded in 1969. In addition to granting Emmy® Awards to pro ...
winner.
*1988 Cleveland Press Club All-Ohio Best Sportscaster.
*Cleveland Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame inductee (class of 2005)
*Cleveland Press Club Journalism Hall of Fame inductee (class of 2009).
*2016 Cleveland Sports Awards Lifetime Achievement Award2016 Lifetime Achievement Award - Cleveland Sports Awards
/ref>
References
External links
Cleveland Browns official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donovan, Jim
Major League Baseball broadcasters
National Football League announcers
Living people
1956 births
American television reporters and correspondents
Cleveland Browns announcers
Cleveland Indians announcers
Television anchors from Cleveland
Olympic Games broadcasters
American television sports anchors
American soccer commentators
People from Hinckley, Ohio