Vintage Baseball Ashtray Questions
 

Hi-
I recently acquired the bronze(?) ashtray scanned below and I was hoping this board might be able to help provide me with some additional information regarding it.
1. How old (approximately) is it?
2. Is it complete? If it is, why would the ball be screwed in (when nothing else is)?
3. Who made it?
4. Is the batter supposed to look like any famous player? Or is it generic?
The more I look at it the more I think the batter was attached to the ashtray later as the feet protrude over the edge, the weird screw, and the overall shape and size. If the batter came from something else, what did it come from? Any information regarding this piece is greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Alan Elefson
aelefson@hotmail.com