Born in Lourenço Marques, Portuguese Mozambique and the paternal grandson of American trader Henry Wilson and a Mozambican princess, Wilson joined Sporting CP in 1949 aged 19, arriving from local Grupo Desportivo de Lourenço Marques. He started his career as a forward. After two years at the Estádio José Alvalade, scoring an average of one goal per match, Wilson signed with fellow Primeira Liga side Académica de Coimbra after enrolling at the local university to study geology, remaining there for the rest of his career and retiring in June 1963 at nearly 34 years of age. His best individual season for the Students was 1951–52 when he scored five goals in 24 appearances, helping to a final seventh position.
Coaching career
Wilson began working as a coach one year after retiring, spending his first five years with Académica – which he led to a best-ever second position in 1966–67, as well as that year's PortugueseCup final – then working three seasons with C.F. Os Belenenses. He first managed S.L. Benfica in the 1975–76 campaign, winning the national championship; during his early spell with the latter he coined the phrase "Anyone who coaches Benfica risks being champion", having been dubbed whilst still a player O Velho Capitão. In the late 70s, Wilson accumulated duties at Vitória de Guimarães and the Portuguese national team, being in charge of the latter during the unsuccessful UEFA Euro 1980 qualifying campaign. From 1980 to 1983 he again worked with Académica, two of those seasons being spent in the second division; until the end of the decade he would be in charge of no fewer than six clubs, coaching Louletano D.C. and G.D. Estoril Praia in two different spells. Wilson replaced fired Artur Jorge at the helm of Benfica after the third round in 1995–96, leading the team to the second position and the season's domestic cup. As an interim he also managed the team in four matches in two different campaigns, winning two, drawing one and losing one. Wilson's last coaching job was in 1998–99 at the age of 69, with another Lisbon-based club, F.C. Alverca, helping lead the team out of the relegation zone in the top level alongside his successor José Romão, following which he continued to work there in directorial capacities. Subsequently, he worked with the Portuguese Professional Footballers' Union, organising actions for unemployed players, and also opened up his own football school, Mr. Wilson, in the Portuguese capital area.
Wilson's son, also named Mário, was also a footballer. A midfielder, he too played for Académica and Benfica, competing professionally from 1973 to 1986. Wilson, whose idol was Eusébio, died on 3 October 2016 in Lisbon aged 86. His daughter Ana was crowned Miss Portugal in 1982, while his grandson Bruno played youth football for Sporting.
