After bouncing between various youth clubs, Turl Wagner joined the football organization that he would become most associated with, SC Wacker Wien, in 1940. He moved up to the senior division in 1946 and, between then and 1958, made 292 appearances with the club and scored 175 goals, winning the national championships and the Austrian Cup in 1947. Wacker Wien was also four times national runner-up during Wagner’s time there, in 1948, 1951, 1953, and 1956. From 1958 through 1963 he played for SVS Linz, before completing his final season with FC Wacker Innsbruck. His lengthy tenure with the national team, which lasted until 1957, began in 1946 as well. He earned 46 caps and scored 22 goals, with his most notable tournament being the 1954 World Cup, where Austria finished in third place. He was also nominated to the Austrian squad for the 1948 Summer Olympics, but did not travel to London. After a year-long stint as manager of Wacker Innsbruck, he retired and worked in an Austrian shoe store.
Austria