Afflicted with osteomyelitis , Milton lost a lower leg when he was four years old .
The elder Cummings was a second - generation native of Huntsville , Alabama , and soon moved his family back to that city .
Afflicted with osteomyelitis , Milton lost a lower leg when Cummings was four years old .
The elder Cummings was a second - generation native of Huntsville , Alabama , and soon moved his family back to that city .