When an ocularist hand-painted Beckham Zobrist’s first prosthetic eye 4 years ago, he carefully crafted the piece to match his existing blue eye so no one would know that the boy, then only 3 years old, had lost it to cancer unless Beckham wanted them to.

But now the 7-year-old boldly wears his prosthetic to show to anyone looking his way not just his status as a cancer survivor, but also as a Cubs fan.

Beckham’s right eye was removed in 2012 within weeks of when he was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, an eye cancer that most often affects small children. And while Beckham’s story has never been a secret – his family has agreed to interviews and spoken publicly about his ordeal – it also wasn’t something that the youngster ever drew much attention to.

Until a combination of a Christmas wish fulfilled, some unexpected attention and an overwhelmingly positive response culminated with a phone call from an ESPN producer to Beckham’s mom, Erin. Their story will be featured on the sports network’s show “E:60,” slated to air at 7 p.m. tonight.

His parents and doctors have tried for the past 4 years to help him embrace his prosthetic, crafting him novelty eyes with the logos of Superman, Batman or the Green Lantern, but he would wear them only at home around his family.

In November, Beckham brought his Christmas list to his mom. At the top, Beckham asked for a new eyeball. Not a prosthetic, but a new, working eye, something his parents will never be able to give him.

So his parents asked, “If you can’t have an eyeball, what’s next on your list?”

“A Cubs eye,” he responded.

With only weeks until Christmas, Beckham’s parents weren’t sure they’d be able to get one in time. But the ocularist came through, and on Christmas morning, Beckham unwrapped his new eye and immediately popped it in.

A few months later, ahead of a day when Beckham was slated to lead show and tell in front of his kindergarten class, the moment arrived that his parents knew was coming, but they hadn’t thought would happen for many years.

“I want to take my eye out and show my class how I do it,” Beckham told his mom.

At school, Beckham was met with awe. His classmates lined up at recess awaiting their turn to get a closer look and perhaps poke a finger into Beckham’s unfeeling eye

The Cubs logo, emblazoned where his iris should be, had given Beckham the confidence to finally share an important part of who he is with his best friends.

After Erin wrote a letter to a Cubs fan page sharing how his love for the Cubs had given him such a boost, Beckham, his parents, and three older brothers were invited to walk onto Wrigley Field ahead of a game they’d gotten tickets to. Later, they were contacted by WGN, which wanted to meet them at the field to do a story.

Beckham and his father, Nick, were surprised by an invitation into the Cubs clubhouse, where a star-struck Beckham got to meet with players, including second baseman Ben Zobrist, a distant cousin.

“He didn’t really talk down there much, even though they asked him questions,” Nick said.

“He showed every single guy. They’d stop and he’d stick his face out. He was so proud.”

Then, when the call from ESPN came, Erin was shocked that her son’s experience would be noticed by the television giant.

An ESPN crew spent almost a week with the Zobrist family, even attending one of Beckham’s little league baseball games.

“At least we won,” Beckham said.

And suddenly, the kid who a year before almost never talked about his prosthetic eye, was hamming it up in front of ESPN cameras. In less than a year, Beckham had gone from keeping his prosthetic eye totally private to showing the world.