Born into a farming family in Prestwick and raised in Dundonald, South Ayrshire,[4][2] Wilson started playing football with local junior side Irvine Meadow.

[7] Wilson signed for Lancashire Combination outfit Oldham Athletic in the summer of 1906 and became a first-team regular almost at once, playing 38 matches and scoring two goals in his inaugural season.

[7] On 5 April 1913, Wilson made his international debut for Scotland in the 0–1 defeat to England at Stamford Bridge, in which he played alongside his brother Andrew[10] (the last occasion when siblings took the field together until after the Second World War).

[2] Wilson continued as manager of Nelson after his playing retirement but left the club at the end of the 1924–25 season, despite the team having finished as runners-up in the Third Division North.

He subsequently spent three years working as a stockbroker, before having a spell in charge of Exeter City in the Football League Third Division South between March 1928 and February 1929.