Retired Philly news anchor shows off his favourite wacky socks after collecting record
For a decade, CBS news anchor Jim Donovan (USA) woke up the residents of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA with his colourful morning broadcast, starting off their days with his signature charm and glimpses at his iconic sock collection.
In fact, the beloved newscaster’s taste for wacky socks became a sort of inside joke among his fans – so much so that they began to send pairs to his house, with patterns ranging from childhood comic heroes and breakfast foods, to pairs printed with pictures of his face. Jim would post pictures of his best pairs on social media under the #JimSocks, and fans would flood his comment sections with quotes of approval for his fun style.
@cbsphiladelphia After more than 20 years at CBS Philadelphia, and a career in broadcast journalism spanning nearly four decades, Jim Donovan is retiring. But before the morning news anchor signed off for the final time Friday afternoon, he checked off one last milestone he couldn’t have reached without you, our viewers. Click the link in our bio to read more about Donovan’s career. BUH-BYE!
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Yet it took nearly the course of his career – plus planning for his retirement – for the Emmy-award winning anchorman to finally count up his collection, ultimately achieving his life-long dream of winning a Guinness World Records title right before he left the air for good.
In part due to the generous gifts from his viewers over the years, Jim had acquired 1,531 unique pairs, taking over the title from Rex J. Pumphrey II (USA) and becoming the new title holder for the largest collection of socks in the world.
“I remember I was eight years old and my parents gave me a copy of the Guinness World Records book, and I flipped through it, thinking ‘boy, I wonder if I could beat some of these records someday,’” Jim said to GWR.
“And to know that I’m 59 years old now, and I’m about to retire from TV, [that] I’ve accomplished this bucket-list item… it just makes me absolutely thrilled. I’m just so honoured.”
Despite years of waking up at 2 a.m. for his morning news segments, Jim said that obtaining his world record was one of the most difficult yet rewarding experiences in his career, requiring him to spend hours inventorying hundreds of pairs of socks on to a 262-page long spreadsheet.
He also brought in two faculty members from the Thomas Jefferson University Fashion and Textile Program to act as witnesses during his count and guarantee that there were no single socks or duplicate pairs – but they actually ended up adding to his work by gifting him a congratulatory pair of socks (that didn’t end up as part of the final total)!
“You can’t have mismatched pairs with Guinness World Records,” joked Jim. “They’re very precise as far as that’s concerned.”
Jim showing off his "Spocks" (Spock socks)
But at the end of the day, it was all worth it when he learned that he had enough pairs to take home the prize – saying in his last broadcast that he wouldn’t have been able to do it without all the generous support from his loyal audience.
"This record is as much theirs as it is mine,” he said, according to the Philly Voice.
And even though Jim is a proud parent to all his pairs of socks, he did admit to GWR that he has some favourites, including all the pairs of food-themed socks he’s received as the news anchor for a morning show.
“I get a lot of breakfast socks, because I’m on a morning newscast, so that makes sense,” he said.
He was also particularly fond of a bright-red pair of elephant socks, which he got on vacation last summer in Cape Town, South Africa.
But his all-time favourites include a pair of Mr. Rogers socks donated by viewers, which remind him of his 39-year career in broadcasting, as well as all of the pairs that feature images of his face – particularly a festive pair of “Jimmy Danger” socks modelled after his motorcycle-riding alter ego.
“A lot of people have sent me socks over the years with my face on it – I know, it’s a little crazy!” said Jim.
“But on one specific day, I did a segment out here in our parking lot with a motorcycle crew, and I had a bandana on and sunglasses – and I was on the motorcycle. So someone sent me this, with a close-up of my face with the sunglasses. I got a kick out of that.”
And even though Jim has since retired from his decades-long career as a news anchor, and is looking forward to enjoying his time off, he says that this collection has inspired his taste for record-breaking – and he doesn’t rule out obtaining another title sometime in the future.
“I’m just so thrilled to be recognized by Guinness World Records,” said Jim. “And the socks keep coming, so who knows what record I’ll break next!”
So congratulations, Jim – you are Officially Amazing!