To further extend this debate and hopefully not controversy, in this February 26, 2013 thread:
http://www.videokarma.org/showthread.php?t=257478
John Folsom asked this question:
"I am not sure when Admiral actually had set in dealer showrooms for sale, so I am not sure if they can really claim to be "first". Anyone know?"
To answer John's question, there was an Admiral 15 color set in a dealer showroom in Pittsburg, Beacon TV, on or prior to February 24, 1954. It is not known if they were taking orders only or if they had the set in stock. If the public could place a purchase order in that store at that time, it would constitute a "sale".
In the same forum Steve D. commented "Taking Pete Deksnis' argument that RCA produced several thousand CT-100's starting in March, 1954 and were available to distributors & dealers by late April,'54 does not trump the fact that the public could could go into a Westinghouse dealer and purchase a color tv in Feb. 1954."
Using this criteria, we have a photo shown earlier in this tread of the Admiral color set in a dealers store and presumably for sale prior to or on February 24, 1954.