" The baseball establishment is permissive about revelry "
Success
Curt Flood's court case between him and Bowie Kuhn led to the McNally v. Messersmith hearing. The case was won by Messersmith and what Flood started has finally been attained. Even though Curt lost his court case, he influenced other people to fight for their rights and have his back on Free Agency.
Downfalls
By refusing the trade and suing the MLB, Flood put his career on the line. His court case led to Free Agency, which made it possible so that if a franchise wants a player they could outbid the other franchise to get the player they wanted. This case was also a downfall because is gave Curt Flood a bad reputation. Flood may have been a high payed slave and maybe able make more money with another franchise but, he fought for free agency. Not only for himself but for other players.