Fergie Jenkins, who won 21 games in 1969, back in 2004 at his Anthem, Ariz. home with a mural of the 1969 Cubs.

The Big Three pitching aces of what is now the second-most revered team in Cubs history in 1969 are exulting in a World Series championship they fully expected to win in their prime.

Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins, Bill Hands and Ken Holtzman, who combined for 58 victories in ’69, all had a special rooting interest in their old team’s comeback seven-game triumph over the Cleveland Indians. And they knew a burden was lifted off their shoulders when the 2016 Cubs  removed the decades-long talk of curses and collapses.

Jenkins, 73, had the closest physical connection with Games 3- 5 played in Wrigley Field. Sharing No. 31 with fellow Hall of Famer Greg Maddux, the man who won 20 games six seasons in a row (1967-72) threw out the first pitch with Maddux prior to Game 3.

Hands, 76, who operates a car-repair shop with his son and grandson in Orient, N.Y., on the far eastern tip of Long Island, said his phone “blew up” when the Cubs clinched the World Series.

Holtzman, 70, who relocated to the St. Louis area, was always a big advocate for better management and Wrigley Field night games. He believes the Cubs were finally rewarded with big prize thanks to the Ricketts family ownership

The trio of pitchers accomplished feats that might seem science fiction by today’s competitive standards.

Jenkins (21 wins) and Hands (20) were the last pair of Cubs pitchers to each win 20 or more in the same season. Holtzman (17-13) threw the first of his two no-hitters on Aug. 19, 1969 at Wrigley Field, defying astronomical odds by not striking out a hitter — 27 batted balls for outs — in the gem.

Although the Cubs got closer to a first-place finish (five) games in 1970, the ’69 Cubs are best remembered for dominating the National League for the first five months. They zoomed to as much as a 10-game lead over the Mets Aug. 13 before the New Yorkers stormed back with one of the fastest finishes in baseball history.

But in 2016, the Cubs left nothing to chance with a baseball-best 103 regular-season wins and playoff victories over the Giants and Dodgers before their taxing World Series triumph.

“Everything was blue with ‘W’ flags,” was Jenkins’ lasting recollection of his first Fall Classic in Wrigley Field. He was not surprised when the Cubs rallied from a 3-1 deficit.

Bill hands today with (from left) son Billy III and grandson Alex at their car-repair shop in Orient, N.Y.

“When a team gets hot, you can’t stop them,” he said, perhaps remembering the ’69 Mets for a second. “I just think the biggest thing was pulling guys together and getting their minds on the same path.”

Hands and his sons, all “known Cubs fans,” got plenty of congratulations from gracious rooters of the Mets and Yankees in and around Orient.

“I was elated,” said the tough right-hander nicknamed “Froggy” in his baseball days. “I was half asleep, though. Those games went way past midnight here two straight nights.”

Holtzman was one of the first major contributors to depart from the contending teams late in 1971 after conflicts with manager Leo Durocher. He went on to help the Oakland Athletics win three consecutive World Series from 1972-74. This time, the Cubs had the best ownership and management in the game.

“It proved that an owner like Mr. Ricketts, who isn’t afraid to compete with other big-market teams as far as spending on free agents and player development was all that was necessary to assemble a winning team,” Holtzman said via email.

“His desire to improve the park and its neighborhood, along with the front office, insures future success as well.  The World Series itself was a huge boost to the popularity of the game.”

Bill Hands won 20 games during the 1969 season.

Only one fly appeared in the proverbial ointment — Cubs manager Joe Maddon’s handling of pitching as the series progressed. Fittingly, Jenkins’ nickname back in the day was “Fly” for the way he buzzed around his teammates in the locker room.

“He was throwing batting practice in the last game, unfortunately,” he said of over-stressed closer Aroldis Chapman.  “When he pitches effectively, that fastball is alive and up. But he was down and using that slider.

“Managers are hunch players a lot of the time. Managers do  what they do.”

Candid and honest, Hands has not lost anything off his verbal fastball as a senior citizen.

“I thought his in-game decisions were terrible,” he said, upset Maddon used Chapman with a five-run lead in Game 6. “What happened to all these guys who did the job (in relief) earlier in the year?”

Hands came away mightily impressed by Kris Bryant’s all-around play.

“He’s got great defensive skill and the ability to run the bases,” he said. “He and (Anthony) Rizzo are the cornerstones.”

The Cubs booked their championship a bit ahead of schedule in Jenkins’ expectations.

“I picked them to win 85 in 2015, and they won 97,” he said. “Then they got (Jason) Heyward, (Ben) Zobrist and (John) Lackey. I thought they were the final pieces of the puzzle.”

All ex-Cubs had a piece of the championship, according to Rizzo in his heartfelt address to the masses in the Grant Park rally last Friday.

“I got so much into the culture of the Chicago Cubs that every single person who has worn this jersey I feel has won the World Series with us,” the first baseman said.

That struck Hands in the gut.

“It’s great Rizzo said that,” he said.

All those burdens of falling short of the World Series by the former players are now lifted.

“It’s finally over,” said Hands. “I’m happy for the organization. Just thrilled for the city of Chicago.”

No more goats, black cats (in a game Jenkins pitched on Sept. 9, 1969) and fans blamed like the “wrong man” from a Hitchcock movie.

“That’s a fallacy now,” Jenkins said. “It’s over.”

HEY-HEY! Jack Brickhouse is smiling down on Wrigley

Cubs fans finally able to say World Series Champions

Chicago Cubs and their fans hold the party of the century

—  1969 Cubs pitching trio celebrate 2016 World Series title —