Born in Detroit, Michigan, Wilson earned a degree in journalism from the University of Michigan, then attended business school in Honolulu, Hawaii. During this seven year stretch living in Hawaii, he did play-by-play for the Triple A baseball Hawaii Islanders, became sports director of the NBC affiliate in Honolulu, and even developed the second ever sports talk radio show in the United States. In 1976 he received acclaim as Hawaii Sportscaster of the Year. Later Wilson became the first announcer for the Seattle Mariners, along with Dave Niehaus, from 1977-1982. Moving on from Seattle, Wilson did games for the Chicago Blackhawks, and then from 1983-1985 play-by-play for the Cincinnati Reds TV Network.