Longtime Birmingham TV news anchor Scott Richards died on Wednesday night.

Richards’ longtime TV station WBRC FOX 6 reports the 74-year-old Richards died following a sudden medical emergency.

A highly respected journalist and TV anchor, Richards arrived in Birmingham in the early 1980s when he began anchoring at WBRC. Richards anchored nightly news for WBRC from 1981 until his retirement in 2014.

According to WBRC, Richards held the record for anchoring the most evening newscasts in Birmingham, more than 18,000 in his 30-year career at the station.

Scott Richards is survived by his wife Yvonne and two children.

Scott Chambers is the News Director and Senior Anchor for the YHN Radio Network. @ScottChambers