A lower Manhattan newsie- Crutchie is easy to pick out in a crowd! He had Polio as a kid which left him with a crippled, inoperative leg and loss of fine motor skills on that side. You wont find him looking for sympathy though! He uses his leg to his advantage when selling papes. He doesn't talk about the refuge, don't ask. Same goes for the Polio. He is fiercely loyal to Jack and will fight for the newsies. He is incredibly self-conscious about his leg, so don't ask, just ignore it.  