Howell was ahead of his time as an attacking full-back. In 1989, he was retrospectively awarded the 1959 Brownlow Medal, having originally tied with South Melbourne champion Bob Skilton but relegated to second on a countback.
"When I first started ... we would get a drubbing nearly every time we ran out," Howell said after being inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame.
"It probably helped my Brownlow achievement because the ball never seemed to go anywhere else (other than the backline)."
The vice-captain of the 1966 premiership-winning Saints played 159 matches.