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But when he saw the measurements of the garage he was building, he knew he could make a U.S. regulation court work, too.
And so, underneath his four-car garage at 85 Stewart Road, Lamp built a squash court to the World Squash Federation's standards.
The project was the only commercial construction done on a residential property Short Hills, and the court itself among the few in-home squash courts in North Jersey.
Lamp's court became the cornerstone of his home, where two of his four sons became good enough to play for The Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
And despite all of hard work that Lamp put into building his secret squash court, and all of the fond memories he and his boys share there, it's time for a new chapter.
Lamp recently listed his home for an asking price of $7.5 million, making it the most expensive listing in Essex County.
"It's a dream home," Lamp said. "A special house."
He's not wrong.
Dubbed "Appin," the house was built in the 1880s by John Stewart, Jr., whose father was Abraham Lincoln's financial advisor. It is on the registered as a historic property in a designated historic area (scroll to the bottom of this story and click "see attachment" for complete history on Appin).
Some of the wood that Lamp used to renovate it comes from barns in Pennsylvania, where the chestnut beams were too high for the worms to get to.
The home sits on nearly 2.4 acres of land and has seven bathrooms, 6 full and 3 half baths, eight fireplaces, grand open spaces, custom moldings, soaring ceilings, a heated-in ground pool and pool house, a tennis court with basketball hoops on either side and a backyard flat enough for soccer games.
Lamp's home is a sports enthusiast's dream, the squash court the crown jewel.
While Lamp didn't have his court accredited by the World Squash Federation, the next owner very well could.
Who knows, maybe the court's next life will be hosting grounds for professional squash tournaments?
Click here for the complete listing.
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