Green’s Dictionary of Slang

a nickname for anyone suffering a degree of paralysis or physical invalidity; in (US Und.) a paralysed beggar, or one who poses as such.

1875		Vancouver Indep. 11 Sept. 1/1: Whatever were his real name [...] the name we knowed him by were ‘Crippy’ [...] some said as how he come out of some asylum or other.
1904		Wahpeton Times (ND) 26 Aug. 4/1: By cracky, it must be ‘Crippy’s’ turn to get skinned this time.
1923		Gloucester Citizen 29 Sept. 6/3: [headline] Stroud Rugby Footballer ‘Crippy’ Watkins in Hospital.
1937		‘Boxcar Bertha’ Sister of the Road (1975) 301: Beggars [...] may be further sub-divided into groups: a. Blinkey (blind) b. Deafey (deaf) c. Dummy (dumb) d. D & D (deaf and dumb) e. Army or wingey (armless) f. Peggy (legless) g. Crippy (paralyzed) h. Fritzy (epileptic) i. Nuts (feeble-minded or insane) j. Shaky ( with pronounced tremors).