Nigbur was born in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. He joined Gelsenkirchen's biggest club, Schalke 04, from SV Gelsenkirchen 06 in 1966, playing 456 matches in the Bundesliga for Schalke and Hertha BSC in between 1966 and 1983,[1] being the first first-team player from Schalke joining the club from Berlin after the Bundesligaskandal in 1970–71. His biggest success on club level was the DFB-Pokal trophy with hometown side Schalke 04 in 1972. In the 1980s and after the end of his last Schalke contract, Nigbur played for teams as VfB Hüls, Rot-Weiss Essen and FC Luthenberg outside the top two German divisions.