Mike Ross was born on November 8, 1937. His father, originally from Italy, migrated to the United States with his brothers, recruited by a coal company to work in West Virginia. Settling in the Weaver/Colton area, his father met and married his mother, whose family also hailed from Italy. Ross grew up in a large family with 14 children, nine boys and five girls, learning the values of competition and hard work from an early age. His father worked as a coal miner, and the family lived in a company house, managing a garden to supplement their food supply.