On Sunday afternoon, Cleveland Browns fans were treated to a thrilling 13-10 win over the rival Pittsburgh Steelers on a game-winning field goal. Aside from the historic rivalry, Browns fans were elated to welcome legendary play-by-play announcer Jim Donovan back to the broadcast booth, calling his first game since Week 1 after undergoing treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukemia. The situation warmed the heart of 92.3 The Fan morning host Ken Carman.
Donovan is in the midst of his 25th season calling games for the team and also works as the sports anchor for 3News (WKYC), a role he will resume on Monday. He had previously been diagnosed with the disease but experienced a relapse last year, resulting in a more aggressive treatment method to effectively combat it.
The Browns’ victory puts the team at 7-3 on the season despite losing quarterback Deshaun Watson for the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury. Donovan was on the call for the victory, which circulated across social media and elicited praise from football fans at large welcoming him back to the broadcast booth. At the start of the game, fans seated in front of the broadcast booth at Cleveland Browns Stadium turned around and cheered for Donovan as he began his work for the day.
“I know he got a little choked up later on. I mean, how could you not?,” 92.3 The Fan morning co-host Ken Carman said on Monday. “To see the outpouring of love that the Browns fans had for him – and the place was going nuts; the lid was coming off the place when he went out there and smashed the guitar.”
Before the game, the Browns honored Donovan by allowing him to engage in the ceremonial guitar smash. After the contest ended, head coach Kevin Stefanski presented him with a game ball in the team’s locker room, completing a long-awaited return to the broadcast booth and conveying a sense of respect between team personnel and the franchise’s heralded play-by-play announcer.
“The franchise has had an up-and-down journey since ‘99, and again, radio is a place where there’s truly a feeling of, ‘The person is with you,’ you have fun with that person and Jim is,” Ken Carman continued. “We said this to Jim on Friday – Jim is one of the people that can still, in this business, give his opinion while the game is going on.
“You hear the horror stories of other teams where guys are muzzled about the teams, and the teams are not good and it becomes just another kind of P.R. for the team, and Jim has always – he’s not sitting there rubbing it in their noses if they haven’t been good obviously – but he’s certainly been a guy, and we know that he’s shared his opinion.”
Earlier this year, the Baltimore Orioles suspended play-by-play broadcaster Kevin Brown after he reportedly made remarks portraying the team in a poor light. In reality, he was reading a statistic outlining the team’s difficulties winning ballgames against the Tampa Bay Rays, statistics that came from the team’s game notes.
The situation caused several broadcasters and fans to implore the Orioles to add him back on the broadcasts, which ultimately ended up occurring after two weeks away from the team. In witnessing restrictions placed on broadcasters over the years, Carman is grateful that Donovan has made his return to the air.
“To have Jim back where he is – through all the changes; through all the hope of this quarterback and that quarterback, and this coach and that coach; two different owners,” Ken Carman explained, “to have Jim back, it means so much to the fanbase because he’s the storyteller; he’s the one that paints the picture for those who can’t be there.”
