Browns legend Doug Dieken to retire from radio booth

CLEVELAND — Doug Dieken, who starred on the field for 14 seasons before making a seamless transition to the radio booth, is calling it a career after a combined 50 years with the Cleveland Browns organization. Dieken, 72, will finish out the 2021 season alongside his play-by-play partner Jim Donovan, who has shared the booth with Dieken since the franchise's return in 1999. "It's been a great ride," Dieken said. "I want to thank the Browns' fans for accepting me first as a player and then as a broadcaster. I've had the most fantastic teammates on the field, in the radio booth, and in the community to make the last 50 years fun. "We didn't get the wins we all hoped for, but I feel like I'm leaving a winner because of my association with the organization and the great fans who listen to our broadcasts." The Browns will honor Dieken during Sunday's regular season finale against the Bengals at FirstEnergy Stadium. Dieken joined the Browns in 1971 as a sixth-round pick out of the University of Illinois and has been the one constant for a franchise that has undergone multiple ownership changes and weathered a three-year hiatus between its move to Baltimore in 1995 and its return as an expansion franchise in 1999. Dieken's had a front seat for 50 of the team's 75 years, first from the line of scrimmage at left tackle — where he played in 203 consecutive games over 14 seasons — and then a few floors up in the press box, where he called games from Cleveland Municipal Stadium, FirstEnergy Stadium and every other stadium across the NFL since 1985. "Doug Dieken has been a great representative of the Cleveland Browns for more than 50 years, and all he's done for our organization is greatly appreciated," said team owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam. "To have a career as he did on the field with the record number of consecutive games played and then become the steady and consistent voice he has been in the radio booth is genuinely remarkable. Doug has that uncanny ability to connect with people. He did it on the field and in the locker room with his teammates, he's done it in the community with the people of Northeast Ohio, and he did it so well on the airwaves with Browns fans. Doug is the consummate professional. He is the Cleveland Browns, and his legacy will not be forgotten." Dieken never missed a game from 1971-1984 and started 194 consecutive games in the process — an NFL record to this day for offensive tackles. An integral member of the unforgettable Kardiac Kids teams, Dieken earned Pro Bowl honors in 1980. In 1983, Dieken was selected by his peers in the NFL Players Association for the Byron "Whizzer" White NFL Man of the Year Award for his efforts on behalf of his teammates and community. In his 34 seasons as the Browns' radio color analyst, Dieken missed just two games. He's also been a fixture inside the locker room and on the field for the team's practices at the CrossCountry Mortgage Campus, providing mentorship and plenty of stories for the team's current players.