John G. Berylson, a Wellesley businessman and the owner of England’s Millwall Lions soccer team, was killed in a single-car crash in Falmouth on Tuesday, prompting an outpouring of condolences from the close-knit English soccer community.
Berylson, 70, was driving a 2019 Range Rover on Sippewissett Road around 9 a.m. when he apparently lost control on a curving section of the two-lane road, police said. The SUV careened off the road, overturned, and rolled into a ravine, police said.
Firefighters used mechanical tools to extricate Berylson from the wreckage, police said. Berylson was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The cause of the crash is under investigation.
Berylson was the husband of Amy Smith Berylson and the father of three children, Jennifer, James, and Elizabeth, the Millwall Football Club said in a statement. Berylson was the primary owner of the English Football League team since 2006, according to the team’s website.
“John’s sudden and tragic passing will unquestionably impact all those who were fortunate to have known him,” the Millwall Football Club said in a statement. “He was a truly great man, incredibly devoted to his family, and a person of such remarkable generosity, warmth, and kindness.”
“He lived a storied life, one full of colour and joy, and was infinitely thoughtful of others with an endless desire to share his immense knowledge and experiences to help people,” the team said.
The storied South London franchise, established in 1885, reached the top tier of English football just once, in the 1988-89 season, spending the bulk of its history bouncing back and forth between the second and third tiers.
When Berylson took control, the team was on the decline. But three years later, Millwall reached the second-tier Championship League and remained there for nearly all of Berylson’s tenure.
In the season that concluded in May, Millwall finished in eighth place, tying the club’s highest finish during Berylson’s tenure.
With Berylson’s “passionate leadership and guidance, Millwall Football Club has enjoyed tremendous success and stability,” the team said. “Since first becoming involved in the club in 2006, he has presided over some of the greatest moments in Millwall’s history, and his influence in providing the platform for those was immeasurable. John continued to speak eagerly about the new season and his vision for the future, and any success moving forward will be in his memory and honour. It will be his legacy.
“John revelled in the club’s underdog status and mentality. He related strongly to such values and identity and adored Millwall supporters. He was fiercely loyal to all his staff, and both they and the fan base will miss him beyond measure,” the team said.
From Spain, where the club is currently training, Millwall Coach Gary Rowett delivered a video message on the club’s Twitter account, extolling Berylson’s personal and professional qualities.
“One of the players mentioned they’d never heard a bad word said about John,” Rowett said. “I think that pretty much sums up what an amazing individual he was. First and foremost, all our thoughts go to his family, to his wife, Amy, and his children and grandchildren. Not only is it devastating news the last 24 hours for anyone who knew John, it’s very, very hard to comprehend just something of that magnitude.
“The first thing that strikes me really, is that I remember many conversations about players and matches and things he wanted to try to do to help move the club forward, and he’d often be having a conversation with one of his grandkids in the background. You could hear him talking to one of his grandkids and talking to his wife, and it just struck me that everything he did was with his family and for his family.”
Steve Morison, a former forward with Millwall, told talkSPORT that Berylson has “shown the rest of the Championship how to run a club. It’s going to hit so many people. He’s not an owner or chairman that you don’t see or speak to — he’s there, he goes round and sees everybody.”
One of the club’s chief London rivals, West Ham United of the top-tier Premier League, expressed its sympathies.
“Everyone at West Ham sends their deepest condolences to John’s family, friends and all at Millwall during this tragic time,” the team said.
Steve Parish, owner of the Premier League’s Crystal Palace team, tweeted that “John was a fantastic person who cared passionately about Millwall and did so much for the club and the community.”
Berylson, along with his wife and her extended family, was active in philanthropy through the Richard and Susan Smith Family Foundation, which awards $15 million annually, according to the foundation’s website.
Foundation officials declined to comment on Wednesday.
Jeremiah Manion of the Globe Staff contributed to this report.
John R. Ellement can be reached at john.ellement@globe.com. Follow him @JREbosglobe. Michael Silverman can be reached at michael.silverman@globe.com.