Wilson played as centre-forward for
Mexborough in the late 1870s; he was famous enough to play for
The Zulus touring side, and in 1881 he played briefly for
Sheffield Wednesday. He moved to Olympic the following year as one of the two professional "imports", as the Wednesday objected to his taking payment for playing for the Zulus. He was known for long throws and was employed as a clerk in Blackburn in order to justify his amateur status. His debut for the Olympic was at
Nottingham Forest in October 1882, the game ending acrimoniously as the Olympians walked off in protest at the referee allowing a goal after an offside Norman charged goalkeeper
Thomas Hacking out of the way of a goalbound shot. Wilson also made his competitive debut in the first round of the
Lancashire Senior Cup the same month, in an easy 11–0 win over the obscure Padiham Church club, but, as he had not lived in
Blackburn for the required 2 years, the Olympians were disqualified - it was assumed this was a deliberate move so the Olympians could concentrate on bigger competition. Wilson duly scored in every round of Olympic's
1882–83 FA Cup run, other than the
final against the
Old Etonians; he did put the ball in the goal close to the end of the match, but it was disallowed on the basis that it had already gone out of play, It was his pass to
Alf Matthews that led to Matthews scoring the Olympians' equalizer. He also played in the Olympic side which lost the 1883 Lancashire Charity Cup final 6–2 to
Blackburn Rovers. The generally working-class Olympic did not have the wealthy backing that other clubs in the region had, and
Preston North End "lured George Wilson from Blackburn Olympic by offering him the tenancy of the Black-a-Moor-Head public house" for the 1883–84 season. His time with North End was not a success due to injury, and he returned to Mexborough in 1884. He won the
Sheffield Senior Cup with the club in 1886; one of his final appearances for the club was in goal in the Minor Cup for amateur Sheffield sides. ==Post-football career==