Correct-- He was Shorty.
In fact he was so well known as Shorty, that in all my research, I could not find the guy's real first name anywhere except when he graduated, and his name then appeared in the yearbook as a candidate for the degree, and listed his accomplishements.
He was also a stud on the BU football team as a senior, scoring 3 touchdowns (18 points total) on the year (2nd most on the team to a freshman, Golden Babcock (5 TD - 30 points)).
As is still the case to this day, one of the top scorers that year got most all his points as a kicker.
Howell had 12 GK (goal kicks, their term for extra points), 2 FG (field goals), and one TD for a total of 24 points on the season, 2nd best to Babcock's 30 points.