He was perhaps best known for his decade at Rangers in which he played an important role in the club's success of the early 1960s; he also made over 100 appearances for Dundee United.
On a visit to Ibrox Stadium he received advice from former star Alan Morton who played left wing, the position in which Wilson became established.
Wilson made his first-team debut on 2 January 1957 just prior to his 20th birthday, was selected for European matches against AS Saint-Étienne[11] and AC Milan and played sufficient games for a League winner's medal in 1959, but it was not until the 1959–60 season that he became a regular in the side.
Wilson played every minute of the campaign's 56 matches and scored over 20 goals, forming part of what would become known as one of the greatest Rangers forward lines, along with Ralph Brand, Jimmy Millar and Willie Henderson, supported by Jim Baxter.
[15] However, in 1965 they only finished in fifth place after Baxter broke a leg,[9] and in the League Cup Wilson was injured in the semi-final and again could not take part in the final.
He spent four seasons at Tannadice, playing over 150 matches (129 in Division One) as the club consistently finished in the top half of the league.
He retired as a player at the end of the following campaign in 1973, aged 36, after helping Dumbarton maintain their status in the top division;[23] he thereafter became a coach at the club.
[10][21] Having served as assistant manager to Alex Wright at Dumbarton – during which time the Sons reached the semi-final stage of the 1975–76 Scottish Cup[27] – Wilson had two spells as manager of the Boghead Park club (1976–1978[28] and 1984–1986),[29] developing players such as Murdo MacLeod, Graeme Sharp and Graeme Sinclair in his first stint and taking the side into the Premier Division in his second, widely regarded as a commendable achievement for a part-time club.
After a short period as assistant to John Lambie at Hamilton Academical, during which they knocked Rangers out of the 1986–87 Scottish Cup,[30] Wilson also had a spell as manager of Dumfries club Queen of the South, taking over after the surprise resignation of promotion winning Nobby Clark.