He played 10 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox (1951–1954), Detroit Tigers (1954–1960), and Cleveland Indians (1960), primarily as a catcher.

In his senior year, 1949, Wilson was the team captain and won the Big Ten Most Valuable Player award as an end.

[3] His most productive season came in 1958, when he played in a career-high 103 games, while collecting a .299 average with a .373 on-base percentage and 10 stolen bases, eighth-best mark in the American League.

In 602 Major League Baseball games, 580 as a catcher, Wilson hit a .258 average and a .338 on-base percentage.

[7] Wilson died in 2014 in Fitchburg, Wisconsin, at the age of 85, and was buried at Forest Hill Cemetery in Madison.