here we go, Wards offered 4 spinning rods in 1951
One cane, one steel, one tubular glass, plus SB 469 cane spin/fly combo
(I have a SB 469 stashed in original condition, sock and tube - tip set which can be worked out - they make a great 7' 7-wt fly rod).
In contrast, Wards had 6 pages of fly rods, 13 models in cane, 2 models in steel, and 9 models in glass.
Excluding salt rods, they had 7 pages of bait rods, 15 glass models, 15 in steel, 1 in cane.
I'm betting there's a very good chance Airex supplied the cane and tubular glass spinning rods, and True Temper (American Fork & Hoe) is good bet on the steel.
1954 is when Hardy's flip-bail patent expired, and most every other reel on the market before then (excepting Shakespeare's patent infringement below) was a half-bail.
Mitchell was manufacturing their first flip bail in 1951, and in 1952, their market took off.
There are enough half-bail Mitchells out there - they made 270,000+/- (worldwide), so people were buying spinning tackle in the late-40s/early-50s - my BIL's father had a half-bail Mitchell 300.
Though the original CAP half-bails predated the 300s, 1954 is when Mitchell released the 304 with CAP marking and finally with full bail.
But spinning was still in its infancy, and the other brands you might find in the early market include Dr. Howald's Shakespeare, likely Conolon, possibly Silaflex - if anyone has catalog info, please contribute.
Here are the reels Wards offered in 1951, Shakespeare's patent infringement (D), plus Airex and Humphrey's Colorado reel.