Green’s Dictionary of Slang

crank n.1

[Ger. krenk, sick]

1. the ‘falling sickness’, epilepsy.

[UK]Harman Caveat for Common Cursetours in Viles & Furnivall (1907) 51: Those that do counterfet the Cranke be yong knaues and yonge harlots, that depely dissemble the falling sickness. For the Cranke in their language is the falling euyll.
[UK]Groundworke of Conny-catching Ch. 11: This monsterous desembler, a Cranke all about.
[UK]Rowlands Martin Mark-all 58: One that counterfeited the falling sickness, they termed him a counterfeit Cranke, for Cranke in their language is the falling sicknesse.
[UK]Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue ms. additions .
[UK]Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue (2nd, 3rd edn).
[UK]Lex. Balatronicum.
[UK]Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.

2. a mendicant villain who specializes in faking sickness, esp. epilepsy, and who often displays convincingly horrific sores and wounds, created by the application of various herbs.

[UK]Beaumont & Fletcher Beggar’s Bush II i: Jarkman, or Patrico, Cranke, or Clapper-dudgeon, / Frater, or Abram-man; I speak to all / That stand in fair election for the title / Of king of beggars.
[UK]‘Rum-Mort’s Praise of Her Faithless Maunder’ in Farmer Musa Pedestris (1896) 36: Crank and dommerar thou couldst play, / Or rum-maunder in one day.
[UK]Scoundrel’s Dict.

3. (US) a dedicated sports fan.

[US]Nat. Police Gaz. (NY) 7 Dec. 10/1: Where [...] baseball was running wild [...] football ha now got Its grip on the affections of the ‘cranks’.
[US]L. Allen Hot Stove League 171: The word ‘fan’ was coined by Ted Sullivan, the legendary manager and scout of the early days, as an abbreviation of fanatic. [...] Before that fans were known as ‘cranks’.

In compounds

crank cuffin (n.) [cuffin n. (1)]

(UK Und.) a tramp who poses as a sufferer from a sympathy-inducing illness.

[Ire]Head Canting Academy (2nd edn) 3: I Crank Cuffin do swear to be a true Brother.
[UK]B.M. Carew ‘The Oath of the Canting Crew’ in Farmer Musa Pedestris (1896) 50: I, Crank-Guffin, swear to be / True to this fraternity.