Mike Ramsey was born in Minneapolis, MN on December 3, 1960. Ramsey was a member of the University of Minnesota's 1979 NCAA Championship team. He was awarded the Lester Patrick Trophy as a member of the gold medal winning 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team. Ramsey played in the National Hockey League for 18 seasons, 14 seasons with the Buffalo Sabres (1979-1993), while the next four years were split between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Detroit Red Wings. Ramsey was the Sabres first choice, 11th overall, in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft. Ramsey participated in four (or five) NHL All-Star games in 1982, 1983, 1985 and 1986. He went to the 1995 Stanley Cup finals with Detroit and made a brief two-game comeback during the 1996-97 season before retiring. He held the Sabres record for most regular season games played by a defenseman with 911. In 1,070 games as a defenseman, Ramsey totaled 79 goals, 266 assists, 345 points and 1,012 penalty minutes. Ramsey returned to the Sabres in 1997 as an assistant coach where he remained until he was named assistant coach of the Minnesota Wild in their inaugural season on July 24, 2000. He helped the Minnesota Wild earn their ranking among the NHL's best in goals against and set an expansion team record in short-handed goals and points in the 2000-2001 season.

Ramsey was inducted into the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame on February 15, 2001.