His family moved to the unincorporated community of Belfry, Kentucky, when he was young.
[1] He received multiple scholarship offers following high school, including from Kentucky, Arkansas, and Ohio State.
But I wouldn't have cared if Arkansas sent a bunch of cheerleaders to see me or if Ohio State gave me a gold Cadillac.
"[1] In his first season with Kentucky, he earned a varsity letter as the Wildcats finished with a 2–8–1 record.
[2] The team rebounded in his sophomore season, compiling a 8–4 record and earning a victory in the Peach Bowl.
Teammate Richard Jaffe said, "He’s a crazy guy off the field but once he puts on the helmet James is all business.
"[3] An article in the Lexington Herald-Leader wrote, "James Ramey sheds blockers with a single swipe.
"[4] Following his college career, Ramey was selected in the 3rd round (70th overall) of the 1979 NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns.
After being selected, Browns coach Sam Rutigliano said Ramey "isn't the answer at defensive end, but he will help upgrade the position."
I know the guys the Browns wanted (Mike Bell, Dan Hampton, Al Harris) are fantastic talents, but they took me in the third round, so they must have seen something in me.
[7] To make room on the roster, the Cardinals released tight end Al Chandler.
[8] Less than a week later, Ramey appeared in his first National Football League (NFL) game,[9] a 37–7 victory over the Minnesota Vikings.
[11] Shortly after being released by the Cardinals, Ramey was signed by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
He appeared in six games during the 1980 season,[2] helping them go to the 68th Grey Cup, where they lost, 48–10, against the Edmonton Eskimos.
[2] He joined the Tampa Bay Bandits of the newly formed United States Football League (USFL) in 1983, starting all eighteen games as left defensive end.
[2] Zenon Andrusyshyn, a teammate of Ramey and writer for The Tampa Tribune called him the "jokester" of the team, writing, "Everybody has had tricks played on them by James Ramey, from having their uniforms screwed into their locker, to having a trap set whereby a bucket of water would drop when a locker was opened, to having their lockers taped completely closed.
After spending the 1986 season in retirement as an insurance salesman, Ramey unretired in 1987 to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a replacement player during the 1987 NFL strike.
"[16] The Bradenton Herald published a journal written by Ramey, describing his return to professional football.
[17][18] The first entry of his journal read, "The second I stepped on the team bus for the short trip to the airport the familiar feeling of anticipation began to churn.