Northwestern University for college. Wilson was a member of the 1936 Wildcats team, which won the Big Ten Conference championship. After going undrafted in 1937, he was signed by the Chicago Bears later that year. Although Wilson participated in all eleven games of his rookie season, he started only two games. He recorded just one reception for 20 yards in 1937. The following season, Wilson recorded his first career touchdown. From 1940 to 1942, he was selected for the NFL All-Star Game, today known as the Pro Bowl, and was First-team in 1942. Wilson was a member of the Bears during their five appearances in the National Football League championship Game from 1940 to 1943 and in 1946, with the team winning in all but 1942. Listed as a starting right end for the 1940 NFL Championship Game, Wilson threw a tremendous block which took out two Redskin defenders as Bill Osmanski broke away for the Bears first score during their historic 73–0 rout of the Washington Redskins. During the 1943 season, Wilson recorded a career-high 293 yards receiving and 5 touchdowns. In the 1943 NFL Championship Game, Wilson caught three passes for 29 yards in the club's 41–21 defeat of the Redskins. He had similar regular season performances in 1944 and 1945. In the former, he caught 24 passes for 265 yards, including 4 touchdowns. In 1945, Wilson recorded a career-high 28 receptions, for 259 yards and 3 touchdowns. He retired as a player following the 1946 season, compiling an overall record of 111 pass receptions, 1,342 receiving yards, and 15 touchdowns. Coaching career Wilson began his coaching career with the Bears in 1947, when he became an assistant coach to George Halas. He spent just two seasons with Chicago, before taking an assistant coaching position in 1949 with the Detroit Lions, a division rival of the Bears. Before the 1957 season began, he succeeded Buddy Parker as head coach, who abruptly resigned on August 12. In his first year as head coach, Wilson guided Detroit to an 8–4 season and a 59–14 victory over the Cleveland Browns in the NFL championship game, to date the most recent league title for the Lions. For his efforts, Wilson was the first recipient of the Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year Award. In January 1958, he also served as the Western Conference head coach for the first nationally televised Pro