John Joseph Moakley (April 27, 1927 – May 28, 2001) was an American politician who served as the United States representative for Massachusetts's 9th congressional district from 1973 until his death in 2001. Moakley won the seat from incumbent Louise Day Hicks in a 1972 rematch; the seat had been held two years earlier by the retiring Speaker of the House John William McCormack. Moakley was the last Democratic chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Rules before Republicans took control of the chamber in 1995. He is the namesake of Joe Moakley Park in Boston, Massachusetts which was renamed in his honor in 2001 after his death. Early life and education Moakley was born in South Boston, Massachusetts, April 27, 1927, and grew up in the Old Harbor public housing project. Lying about his age, he enlisted in the United States Navy during World War II and was involved in the Pacific War from 1943 to 1946. After returning home, Moakley attended the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida from 1950 to 1951, and he received his LL.B. at Suffolk University Law School in Boston in 1956. Career In 1958, he partnered with his Suffolk classmate Daniel W. Healy, and together they opened a law practice at 149A Dorchester Street in South Boston. They remained legal partners into the late 1970s. Moakley was a member of the Portuguese American Civic Club located in Taunton, Massachusetts. Moakley served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1953 to 1963 and in the Massachusetts Senate from 1964 to 1970. He was a delegate to the 1968 Democratic National Convention. After the retirement of longtime Congressman John W. McCormack, Moakley ran for the Democratic nomination in the Ninth District but lost to Boston School Committee chair Louise Day Hicks, who gained support based on her opposition to school desegregation. He was a member of the Boston City Council from 1971 to 1973. In 1972, Moakley ran as an independent against Hicks and defeated her by 3,448 votes. Moakley was sworn in to Congress on January 3, 1973, one day after having switched his party affiliation back to the Democratic Party. He was reelected 14 times, never facing substantive opposition. He faced Republican challengers only six times; the other times, he was either completely unopposed or faced only minor-party opposition. In 2002, he posthumously received the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award for