Born in Baytown, Texas, Wilson attended Channelview High School and Sam Houston State University. Wilson was selected in the 1st round of the 1980 amateur draft by the Tigers. He made his major league debut on April 15, 1982. He played two seasons for the Tigers, hitting 292 as a rookie then driving in 65 runs in 1983 making him a valuable player for a trade.Being only 24 he was then traded on March 24, 1984 along with John Wockenfuss to the Philadelphia Phillies for Willie Hernández and Dave Bergman. Wilson was best known for his strong throwing arm, and he led all National League outfielders for assists in 1985, 1986, and 1987, throwing out 18, 19 and 20 base-runners from right field, respectively. In 1987, Wilson three times threw out base runners who attempted to reach first base after apparent singles into right field. His most successful season as a batter was in 1985, when he drove in 102 runs, and recorded 167 base hits with 14 home runs in 608 at bats for a.275 batting average. He was selected as a National League All-Star in 1985. On August 5, 1987 he pitched in the bottom on the 8th inning in a game against the New York Mets when the Phillies ran out of relief pitchers and manager Lee Elia put him on the mound. In the only pitching appearance of his career, he had a 123 inning striking out Howard Johnson. On September 15, 1988, Wilson hit two home runs off Randy Johnson, the first two homers ever surrendered by Johnson. At the start of the following season, Wilson again tagged Johnson for a homer. Wilson owned and operated a gas station in Conroe, Texas. From 1988 to 2006, he was a manager in independent minor league baseball for the Amarillo Dillas,Coastal Bend Aviators of the Central Baseball League and the Chillicothe Paints of the Frontier League. He released his autobiography, co-written with Darrell Halk and titled Headed Home: A MLB All-Star's Search for Truth, in 2012. Wilson is a licensed ordained minister. According to writer-director Rick Linklater, the Glenn McReynolds in the 2016 filmEverybody Wants Some!! is based on Wilson at Sam Houston State. Wilson filed a lawsuit against Linklater for useing his name to promote the movie. Wilson did not remember Linklater ever being in a game since he was a freshman while Wilson was a junior.
